-

 Acts 22 - Call on the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth


My daughter, son-in-law, and first grandson (Lynchburg, VA)

Jesus does not make mistakes. He’s God. He draws people to himself, but he does not force them. Jesus loved the people of Jerusalem. They were hard people to love. They were stubborn, rebellious, arrogant, and self-righteous. He knew their hard hearts, yet he still yearned for them to know Him and his will.

Jesus chooses men and women to do his will - not based on our accomplishments or pedigree, but on His wisdom and grace.

God’s body is strong. Jesus has those He chooses to use for particular purposes. Men of God. The Ananias of this passage was such a man. And so was Paul.  

Jesus of Nazareth (never be ashamed of where you are from!) (v. 8) became Saul’s Lord and Saviour on the road to Damascus. Saul was then born again with a new heart, indeed, even a new name. The God of Abraham chose Paul to know his will, see the Righteous One, and hear him speak. The Father assigned Paul the role of witness, one who would tell everyone what he saw and heard.

God chose the right man. Paul is a hero of the Faith because of his courageous witness. He bravely went to Jerusalem and gave a detailed report to the church leaders.

Then, like Jesus, he was willing to lay down his life to tell the truth about God. Am I ready to lay it all down for Jesus today?

Paul did this not just in Jerusalem, but he did it everywhere he went. He was beaten and almost killed repeatedly.

Lord Jesus, I pray for myself and for my friends.   We need you. Please give us the boldness to come to you to understand your will. Please send us to be your ambassadors and to risk our lives for you to save souls. Help us see through the hard hearts, bitterness, and evil; may we speak what we hear from you.

Thank you for Paul, Luke, and all those who wear the crown of life. I pray that my friends will wear that crown well. I pray that my daughter, sons, and grandchildren will wear it well. And my virtuous, capable, and beautiful wife as well.

Thank you, Jesus,

Amen.

Meghan and Tyler in the ‘Burg.

Comments

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear your comments, and if you have questions email me at dcbell1111@gmail.com.

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
 2 Timothy 3 - Are You a Christian, Christian?           Early in my legal career (I'd been practicing about five years and about five years into my Christian walk) I had an interesting encounter with the CEO of one of our firm’s clients.  It was 2001 and technology companies were thriving.           My neighbors in S.W. Calgary were Lebanese immigrants and faithful members of their mosque.  They were some of the best neighbors we’ve ever had.  They owned a bakery that made Pita bread.  I’ll never forget the day we took possession of that house.  As they often would in the eleven years we lived there, they brought me a big bag of fresh bread.  We shared many good conversations with them over the years.  I love them and I pray God blesses them.           My neighbors had a friend from the mosque who was the CEO of Wi-LAN - a publicly listed tech company that held patents for technology that was key to the Blackberry - and later many other mobile phones.  Wi-LAN made many in the mosq
Read more
-
Image
 Hebrews 2:1-5 - Signs and Wonders - Miracles and Gifts I can shock myself at my inability to learn simple lessons.  They say just showing up is 90% of success.  Well, I’m confident inattentiveness, waffling, and ambivalence are keys to failure. In this passage, we hear yet again a warning to “listen very carefully” to God’s message or we run a real risk of total failure - drifting away from God (2:1).  With responsibility comes consequences.  Just ask any sentry, goaltender, place-kicker, or pilot.  You have a job to do - if you don’t do it well the results are clear.  So, let’s do it well. It’s the same as we develop and grow as Christians.  We have to make a decision to grow.  I've been reading about growthmindset lately and I think God is finally getting through to me.           It will not come as a shocker to any dad hooked on porn, a mom who has dabbled in an office romance, or the pastor who’s craftily swindled money from the church.  Christians can’t just casually li
Read more
-
Image
 Hebrews 6 - Faith and Endurance These next two chapters of Hebrews are incredibly encouraging for the Christian.  God gives us confidence and courage to do what we must.  When the whistle blows, be ready to go.  God in Heaven is developing your character; He’s preparing you to fight His battles.           We are responsible to grow.  We know that God repays people for the wrong they have done (Jeremiah 50:24).  And that God uses whomsoever He chooses as His instruments of justice (Jeremiah 50:20).  “For the LORD is a God who gives just punishment; he always repays in full” (Jeremiah 50:56). Thinking of God’s character is sobering, and good.  We know Jesus is the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.  In the next few chapters, we hear the truth about who Jesus is and our responsibilities to Him. Nearly 2,000 years after the death, burial, and resurrection of our King we are reminded that there are false teachers today - those leading people astray for power and greed - just as there
Read more