November 22, 2010

The Conversion of the Apostle Paul

1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.

3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Acts 9:1-5

Pastor's Blog:

“If there is a God, if there is a spiritual dimension to our world, if there are indeed many dimensions to our world, then you are unlikely to get in touch with them, or only at a great distance, by holding off from anything which might open you to the enormous and powerful world which throbs with life and possibility never suspected by the average churchgoer”.

Try reading Ezekiel 1 as an exercise designed to lead you to encounter the holiness of God. This was a practice of at least some Jews and it has been suggested by serious scholars that this is exactly what the apostle Paul was doing on his way to Damascus. His mission to eradicate the Christ followers was one of seeking to honor God after all.

Imagine then his seeing with the eyes of his heart the glorious figure on the chariot, flaming with fire, surrounded by brilliant light and then seeing with his physical eyes, could it be, the face, the face of Jesus?!!

Suddenly Saul’s world is turned upside down. Terror, ruin, sorrow, shame, awe, horror, glory, and terror again, must have swept over him. He had seen Jesus (2 Cor 4:6, 1 Cor 9:1). Now the law and prophets had not only come true, they have been ripped apart and put back together again by Jesus.

Can you imagine Paul’s brilliant mind sweeping from OT text to text and seeing it anew! “ It’s all there, it’s all there!” he must certainly have thought.

Has your world ever been rocked by Jesus?