TESTIMONY (PART 2)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’”

“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.”

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.”

“My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of Him who was speaking to me.”

“‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.”

Acts 22:6-10

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Paul boldly stepped back onto the stairs of the barracks and faced the angry mob who wanted to kill him, he had a now silent and captive audience as he addressed them in Aramaic.

In yesterday’s message, we saw how he started by relating with his audience, sharing that he was a Jew as they were and that he had also held contempt for Christians at one time, persecuting and even killing them, if needed.

His point was clear. I am of the same heritage as you and I too acted the way you are acting toward me.

So what changed? What took Paul from who he was as Saul and brought him to be a powerful apostle for the Lord Jesus Christ?

We find Paul tell of that turning point as we look at this second devotion of four that cover his testimony before the once murderous crowd in Jerusalem. Look again at his words here:

“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’”

“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.”

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.”

“My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of Him who was speaking to me.”

“‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.”  Acts 22:6-10

The Lord moves in His perfect way and at His perfect time to accomplish His perfect purposes. We see this truth come to life as Paul testifies about what happened on the road to Damascus.

The supernatural intervention came in the form of an invading bright light from heaven that descended on Saul (Paul’s name before his conversion) and flashed around him. Falling to the ground, the surely startled and afraid Saul heard a voice asking him a direct question:

“Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?”

Saul didn’t recognize who was addressing him. This is because he didn’t know the voice of Jesus, the One he was persecuting by abusing and killing Christian believers.

And so Saul asks, “Who are you, Lord?” acknowledging that the One who was taking with him was a deity of some kind.

Jesus makes sure that Saul knows that He was doing the talking and was the One being persecuted. Saul had met his match and it really was no match at all. Jesus was making it clear to Saul that enough was enough and his abuse and mistreatment of Christians was going to stop.

Of interest, it was only Saul who heard Jesus’ voice. His traveling companions saw the light but that was it. Saul on the other hand was receiving Jesus’ message loud and clear. His Damascus moment, the one he was testifying about, left him with only one other question for Jesus:

“What shall I do, Lord?”

Friends, as we share our testimony, I think we can all identify our own “Damascus moments”, the time when we came to believe in Jesus and ask the same question as Saul did:

“What shall I do, Lord?”

It’s what comes after this, the witness we bear over how Jesus answered our question for us that tells the tale of our conversion, of how we were willing to leave our former life behind to live the new life that Jesus called us to.

What would your testimony look like?

I know I have my own story which is grounded in when I met my wife and she told me that if we were going to have a relationship, we would both have to put Jesus first. It changed my life forever and after nearly 29 years of marriage, I am happy to testify that Jesus reigns supreme, not just in our relationship but in our individual lives.

If you get a chance today, comment on this devotion with your own testimony as to how Jesus came to you and left you asking, “What shall I do, Lord?”

In tomorrow’s message, we’ll see Paul share how he responded.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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