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Life-altering moments…. (devo reflection)

Acts 9:7a The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless;  

Talk about your life-altering moments. I know Saul had one, as truly he altered his life after this experience and went from being one of the chief prosecutors of Christ to being one of his biggest supporters, but I wonder if this experience changed the men traveling with Saul at all.

 Acts 9:7b …they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

They stood there. They heard the sound but did not see anyone. They stayed with Saul at least for a bit because they led him by the hand into Damascus. Did they stay with him through the entire experience? Were they changed by association? Were they as zealous as Saul in the beginning? Were their hearts softened as well?

Acts 9:8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 

Precious Savior, I have so many questions about those connected to Saul during this experience and how their lives may have been changed as a result of his Damascus Road experience. Thank You for an avid curiosity for Your word. Help me to draw closer to You with every breath. Amen.

Acts 9:9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.  

Have a blessed day.

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“Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”…. (devo reflection)

Acts 9:5a “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

I have often said when it comes to making choices–especially big, scary, life choices–that I wish God would give me a big ole flashing neon sign that I can’t miss so that I would absolutely know the choice that keeps me in His will. I’m pretty sure that Saul’s Damascus Road experience is the equivalent of that prayer.

 Acts 9:5b “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 

But here’s what I find so interesting. Saul didn’t pray for flashing neon clarity. He didn’t even think he was out of God’s will. He relished the opportunity to persecute Christians, and he absolutely thought he was doing the right thing, and yet, when he is struck down, he pauses and pivots, asking only “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6 KJV).

Acts 9:6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for the enthusiasm You have given me to embrace this life. When I am out of Your will, help me to see it, to know it, to have the strength and grace to say, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” so I can correct the issue. Amen.

Acts 9:7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.  

Have a blessed day.

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A Damascus road experience…. (devo reflection)

Acts 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest… 

The diction of verse 1 catches my attention this morning. Both meanwhile and still mean at the same time. Even though this is the first time in Acts 9, this is an action that had been occurring even during and at the same time as the events in Acts 8. Saul is described by one source as “a Pharisee of Pharisees.” He relished the ability to persecute Christians.

Acts 9:2 …and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.  

And while it definitely seems like he enjoyed persecuting Christians, it seems pretty clear to me that prior to his Damascus road experience, he truly believed that persecuting Christians was the right thing to do, and he did it with passion and gusto until the Lord got his attention and helped him to see the light.

Acts 9:3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

Precious Savior, How often am I inadvertently Saul, so convinced that what I am doing is the right thing to do even when it is clearly not. I don’t want to pray for a Damascus road experience, Lord, but if I am out of Your will, please help me to see it, to know it, to correct it immediately. Amen.

Acts 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  

Have a blessed day.

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What can I learn today? (devo reflection)

Luke 10:25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Two words jump out at me in today’s scripture. In verse 25, the expert is wanting “to test Jesus,” and in verse 29, he is wanting “to justify himself.” This brings to mind 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” Neither testing nor justifying is designed to encourage nor build others up.

Luke 10:26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

I was reading and studying in Acts 9 earlier, specifically verse 4 where the Lord asks Saul, “Why do you persecute me?” I would say that the expert in the law in today’s verses could do with a similar question: “Why do you test Jesus? Why do you justify yourself? What are you trying to do, to prove?”

Luke 10:27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Lord, One thing I am gathering loud and clear from Your word lately is that we need to question our own motives to be sure they are pure and we need to seek You with openness and curiosity so that we can hear what You are saying to our hearts. Please help me to always approach scripture with an attitude of “What can I learn today” and not with an attitude aimed at testing You or justifying myself. Amen.

Luke 10:29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Have a blessed day.

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A ministry of inclusion…. (devo reflection)

Acts 15:1 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Jesus’s ministry was one of inclusion. He made sure that those who were marginalized, treated as less than, knew that there was a place for them at His table. Ironically (or maybe it’s more typical than ironic), Christians far and wide seem to spend an inordinate amount of time putting limits on who qualifies as Jesus’s beloved. And today’s scripture shows us that this habit of trying to limit who’s included isn’t new.

Acts 15:2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

I wonder if the human tendency to limit who can be called God’s beloved is related to the scarcity mentality that exists today. Are those who try to limit who can claim God’s love scared that if too many are allowed “in,” there won’t be any love left for them? When I think, “God surely didn’t mean *them*” (and, sadly, I’m human. I have thought that), am I afraid that if too many people love Jesus, there won’t be any of His love left for me?

Acts 15:3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad.

Lord, Your love is expansive and inclusive. You welcome all. You created all. You love all. And yet, we try to put limits on Your love. Forgive us. Help us to love inclusively like You do. Help us to know without a doubt that there is room for everyone in Your kingdom that there is enough love to go around. Help us to shine Your light. Amen.

Acts 15:4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

Have a blessed day.

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To understand and be understood…. (devo reflection)

Acts 2:5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

Language differences can be a huge barrier. I know just a tiny bit of Spanish. If I am talking to someone who only knows a tiny bit of English and we have no interpreter, it’s not going to take long for both of us to become frustrated because we are unable to clearly communicate with the other. Even as I type this, the feelings inside me are very tense and uncomfortable.

Acts 2:6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.

So imagine if I still know my tiny bit of Spanish, the person I’m conversing with still knows only a tiny bit of English, there is no translator between us, yet we completely understand and are understood with every word that is spoken. Even as I type this, I can breathe freely, I don’t have that overwhelming feeling of stress.

Acts 2:7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that to understand others and to be understood is such a gift. Help us, even when there are barriers, to seek ways to foster understanding with others. Help us to shine Your light. Amen.

Acts 2:8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?

Have a blessed day.

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One in heart and mind…. (devo reflection)

Acts 4:32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

One of the things that strikes me in today’s verses is the unity and positivity: “one in heart and mind,” “shared everything,” “filled with awe,” “together with glad and sincere hearts,” “praising God.” It’s entirely too cynical of me, but as much as I love the descriptions, I’m thinking, “Yeah. Right.” It often feels like we, as human beings, have gone too far down the path of turmoil to have this kind of unity.

Acts 2:43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

I am the only person I can control. I can love God and love others. I can aim for being “one in heart and mind” with Christ, “sharing everything”–ok, it might be more realistic to say sharing things with a generous heart, which is sometimes hard for me, “filled with awe” at the way I see God at work in the world and in me, “together with glad and sincere hearts”–approaching all tasks with an earnest desire to love God and love others, “praising God”–always, always praising God.

Acts 2:46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts…

Lord, It is easy for me to feel overwhelmed at the enormity of trying to fix all the problems, all the darkness I see in the world. Thank You for helping me to see today that You aren’t calling me to fix everything. You only want me to be a light to others where I am. You only want me to put good into the world in my little corner. If all of us focus on putting good into our little corner, Your light will shine in the darkness and the darkness will never overcome it (John 1:5). Amen.

Acts 2:47 …praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Have a blessed day.

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The larger goal…. (devo reflection)

Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Today is the official end of my Spring Break. Tomorrow starts the final push to graduation. Teachers and students both are tired, and now we’ve had a taste of freedom, so these final weeks are hard. Ultimately, at this time of year, I have to remind myself that I do this job not to make it to summer vacation but because all those years ago, God called me to be a teacher.

Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Finishing the race doesn’t mean finishing the school year, or my career, it is about the larger goal. And while, as a public school teacher, I can’t preach my faith, God shows me His presence with me in the classroom every single day in myriad ways. And so it is with you. He’s with you, guiding you, incorporating you into His ministry wherever He has you currently planted. Trust Him.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Lord, Thank you for time to rest and renew. Thank you for unexpected opportunities and beach sunrises and time with family. As we head into this last eight weeks of the school year, give us all the strength and the will to finish strong. And help all of us, no matter what we do in life, to remember the larger end game–eternity with You. Thank You for the hope of eternity. Amen.

Philippians 3:14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Have a blessed day.

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More than beautiful language…. (devo reflection)

Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.

Who is God? Where is God? What’s His role in heartbreak and in hope? I think these are questions we need to ask if we are to have a personal, intimate relationship with Christ. And I don’t think the answers are static and fixed. I think they change and evolve, just like we do.

Acts 17:25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

God gives life and breath and everything else. He is not far from any one of us. In Him we live and move and have our being. Everywhere. Always. He is never far from us.

Acts 17:27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

Lord, The language of these verses is beautiful, but we need more than beautiful language in difficult times. Help us to seek You, to know You, to trust You. Amen.

Acts 17:28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Have a blessed day.

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A better way…. (devo reflection for 9/18)

Acts 28:3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.

Paul has had a rough road: He was falsely accused, and even though not enough evidence against him was found, his own people, the Jews, objected to his release, prompting his appeal to Caesar. He went through a terrible storm that destroyed the entire ship (and left everyone traumatized, I’m sure). Now he is doing the right thing, the godly thing, serving others by gathering sticks for the fire when a viper bites him. Seriously?!?

Acts 28:4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.”

What strikes me most, though, is Paul’s reaction. He simply shakes the snake off into the fire and continues to serve. He doesn’t rant and rave. He doesn’t curse and scream. He doesn’t demand to know why he’s being persecuted (all reactions that I am guilty of under stress and duress). He shakes it off and keeps going, resting in God’s promise to him.

Acts 28:5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

Lord, Forgive me when I get overwhelmed and react badly. Thank You for understanding the way that I’m wired, the way that I process. Thank You also for showing me a better way to respond—peace and trust in You. It’s hard for me to see how I can change that much, but I know that with You, all things are possible. Help me to trust, Lord. Amen.

Acts 28:6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Have a blessed day.