Happy Thursday

Paul’s Preparation

 Dr. Thomas Steele

Today’s Passage:  Acts 9:15 “But the Lord said unto him, ‘Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel :”

 

Devotional Thought: Our passage today is an exchange between Jesus and Ananias concerning Saul of Tarsus who, of course, later became the Apostle Paul – arguably the greatest Christian who ever lived.  Although it was Saul that God wanted to transform and use, Ananias was the vessel that God wanted to use to create the very first godly relationship in Saul’s life.  Yet for Ananias to be effective in God’s plan there had to be some things that were overcome first.  We notice four elements of being used of God.

First there had to be communication.  We must make sure that it is God speaking to our heart and not the ole devil.  Satan will try to sound like God, but his malevolent nature always comes out.  God never uses fear, anger, disappointment or other negative aspects of our sinful human nature to motivate us.  Satan’s way is always the easy way out because he knows we desire an easy path. 

Then we must fight hesitation.  Ananias was being motivated by fear which is counterproductive to the will of God (1 John 4:18).  When God speaks to our heart, we must know God’s “voice” well enough that we can act immediately.  Whether God says to give or God says to testify of His goodness, when we hesitate, we rob ourselves of God using us as a chosen vessel.  Notice that once again God’s word of action is the word “go”.  God never has to lead us to sit and do nothing.  

The next thing we see is validation.  Ananias, because of his fear, almost missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime – to be one of the first steps in God preparing the greatest missionary of all time.  Fear paralyzes the heart even to the point that we no longer are in communication with God for fear of what He might tell us to do.  Yet, you can see that God validated His purpose by making Paul the great man he became.  Remember this though; God won’t validate His purpose to a rebellious heart.  You must first go, and then He will validate His call.

The last element is illumination.  Many times we are called to step out by faith, not knowing exactly where it is that God is leading.  It was God who removed the scales off Saul’s eyes, but Ananias became illuminated along with Saul.  When we step out by faith, God will validate and illuminate.  Obedience to God’s will brings illumination.  If you are always wondering what God’s will is for your life, start obeying God’s Word and then He will begin to illuminate.  Be careful, you cannot obey that which you do not know.

Action Point:  Make a daily game plan.  If you are a lady, bake cookies and put a note with scripture or your church name and times inside the cellophane and pass out the cookies to neighborhood kids.  If you are a man, make up a sheet with your name, phone number, family information and church information.  Then pass it out to the elderly in your neighborhood letting them know you want to help them with simple things like changing their light bulbs or just if they need someone quick.  Then see God validate His plan in your life.   

 

 

We're Marching to Zion

1.      Come, we that love the Lord, 
 and let our joys be known; 
 join in a song with sweet accord, 
 join in a song with sweet accord 
 and thus surround the throne,
 and thus surround the throne. 
Refrain:
 We're marching to Zion, 
 beautiful, beautiful Zion; 
 we're marching upward to Zion, 
 the beautiful city of God. 

2. Let those refuse to sing 
 who never knew our God; 
 but children of the heavenly King, 
 but children of the heavenly King 
 may speak their joys abroad,
 may speak their joys abroad. 
 (Refrain) 

3. The hill of Zion yields 
 a thousand sacred sweets 
 before we reach the heavenly fields, 
 before we reach the heavenly fields, 
 or walk the golden streets, 
 or walk the golden streets. 
 (Refrain) 

4. Then let our songs abound, 
 and every tear be dry; 
 we're marching through Emmanuel's ground, 
 we're marching through Emmanuel's ground,
 to fairer worlds on high, 
 to fairer worlds on high. 
 (Refrain) 

Daily Smile:
Six packets of mothballs, please,” said an old lady to the chemist.

“But I sold you six packets yesterday.”

“I know, but my aim’s not very good and I keep missing them.”

In The News:

Rob Bell Affirms Gay Marriage
Rob Bell, controversial author and former pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church, affirmed and openly endorsed gay marriage Sunday at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral in response to a question regarding same-sex marriage, the Christian Research Network reports. Bell said: "I am for marriage. I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it's a man and woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed and I think the church needs -- I think this is the world we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are." Bell went on to say that while it used to be fair to equate evangelicals with social conservatism, that assumption no longer holds true. "I think we're witnessing the death of a particular subculture that doesn't work," he said. " ... [W]e have supported policies and ways of viewing the world that are actually destructive. And we've done it in the name of God and we need to repent." Bell is known for questioning, challenging and redefining the beliefs of orthodox Christianity. His book Love Wins caused a stir by discounting the existence of hell and his newest book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, is said to "tackle misconceptions about God."

Evangelical Leaders Back Universal Background Checks for Gun Buyers
Two of the nation's leading evangelicals are throwing their weight behind President Barack Obama’s push for universal background checks for all gun buyers, a measure that faces stiff opposition in both the House and Senate, WORLD News Service reports. Rev. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, and Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention told TIME Magazine they supported the proposal. "As ministers, we agreed together that we could stand on a united front for universal background checks," Graham said. "We think that’s reasonable and responsible." But their support come with conditions. Graham wants the president to tax violence in Hollywood films and use part of the money to help victims of gun violence. Land said President Obama should improve the nation's mental health system, and emphasized that his organization did not support the ban on assault weapons, which passed out of the Senate Judicial Committee last week. But critics say the types of gun laws the president advocates would not decrease gun violence. "It is not much satisfaction that criminals are going to have access [to these weapons] and we are going to give the American people a pea shooter," Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told U.S. News. "Why would we turn a law-abiding citizen into a criminal?"