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Good Friday morning May 10th to you friends,
We are traveling together, reading one chapter of God’s Word each day, tracking the events which followed that first Easter and Jesus’ ascension back to heaven.
Today we are in Acts chapter 9. When we consider what we’ve read in little more than one week, it’s simply breathtaking, right? From 120 huddled in a room praying and feeling confused and wondering what they were waiting for… to more than 5000 passionate Christ followers in Jerusalem, to Stephen’s murder by stoning, to Philip taking the Gospel to Samaria and an Ethiopian official, to Azotus and finally Caesarea!
Can you imagine what it would have been like to be there, watching all this? What would it have been like to have been an active part of it?
Saul, an angry young Rabbi was livid.
His anger about the claims of the followers of Jesus and unexplainable miracles were driving him crazy… crazy enough to proudly oversee the murder of Stephen. Crazy enough to go house to house dragging out and beating any he suspected of being Jesus followers. Crazy enough to be heading to Damascus with papers in hand giving him authority to do the same in Damascus, Syria. Yes, the very same city we see on the news often today.
My friends, how do you explain what happened to Saul in Acts 9?
What courage did it take for Ananias to go to blinded Saul and greet him as “brother” and after hearing his confession, praying over him and baptizing him and wash his eyes till they opened?
Do you blame the people of Damascus and later Jerusalem for being suspicious of Saul’s conversion?
And what about Barnabas… my oh my, what a work of the Holy Spirit in him, that he would risk befriending Saul, trusting Saul’s story and taking Saul to the Apostles.
Look closely at Acts 9:31…oh my what a wonderful season that must have been.
And then there’s Peter traveling around visiting those who had scattered in fear because of Saul, now settling in other towns. Peter encouraging folks, telling them about his experiences with Jesus and by the power of God actually raising a woman from the dead. . .WOW! Are you almost out of breath reading this great chapter?
So finally chapter 9 comes to an end with Peter staying in the home of Simon the tanner in Joppa. Did you know Joppa is modern day Tel Aviv, Israel? How about we settle down and spend the day with Peter and Simon the tanner. Look out over the Mediterranean Sea…and just reflect for a while. Can your mind absorb the magnitude of all Chapter 9 of Acts tells us?
Breathe deeply… rest a bit, thank Jesus for what you read in Acts 9…because tomorrow, chapter 10 will take your breath away!
Have a great day friends,
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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