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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Acts 9:17-19
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever wondered what went through Saul’s mind during the three days he sat blind in Damascus?
I do.
I can’t help but think he reflected on all he had done against Jesus and his followers, how he had persecuted them with such passion even to the point of murder. He must have remembered how he stood and supervised Stephen’s execution, an innocent man stoned for no good reason outside of being a Christ follower. And he must have sat in complete fear over his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and how the power of the Man he persecuted took away his sight with such ease. Surely, if his vision could be whisked away so effortlessly, then his life could be as well.
We’re not totally sure of all that raced through Saul’s mind but we do know that he spent time praying and as he did, he received a vision about a man named Ananias who came to him in the dream, laid hands on him, and restored his sight. Surely, Saul prayed that it would happen just the way he envisioned it internally.
Now imagine the amazing feeling of liberation as a man named Ananias did appear on the third day after Saul was blinded and while placing his hands on the former Christian persecutor, said:
“Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Note here how Ananias refers to Saul as his “brother”. Jesus told Ananias that Saul was His chosen instrument to bring the good news of the Gospel to the Gentiles and the people of Israel. This meant that Saul would convert to Christianity and therefore be a brother Christian.
We also see where Ananias doesn’t place the focus on himself. Rather, he makes sure Saul knows that Jesus is the one responsible for him regaining his sight. It was Jesus who took his sight away and it was Jesus who was restoring it through Ananias. Further, Jesus was granting Saul with the power of the Holy Spirit so he would be fully equipped to carry out anything that Jesus asked him to do.
And with that statement completed, we read where something like scales fell off of Saul’s eyes and his sight was regained immediately. Just as Jesus had been brought from death to life, from the darkness of the cross to the light of the empty tomb, so too was Saul resurrected from blindness to full sight, from darkness to light.
How did Saul respond?
Well, his persecution days were done. This we know for sure.
We also know that he turned his life over to Jesus for the first thing he did, even before he broke his fast and ate to regain his strength, was to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was yet one more Damascus moment for Saul, one that changed the course of his life forever.
How much so?
We will see tomorrow in the final message in this series. I hope you’ll join me then.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please
share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
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