SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/28/2017
10:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Consecration, Communion
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 9:6-9
Message of the
verses: “6 but get up and enter the
city, and it will be told you what you must do." 7 The men who traveled
with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up
from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading
him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days
without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”
We have mentioned in earlier SD’s that Paul’s testimony
is seen in three different texts in the book of Acts and so let’s look at Acts
22:10 at this point: “"And I said, ’What shall I do, Lord?’
And the Lord said to me, ’Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be
told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’” The highlighted portion is not seen in
chapter nine and we get from that that his surrender was complete as he humbly
submitted himself to the will of the Lord he had so fiercely hated. John MacArthur writes “In contrast to the
teaching of many today, Saul knew nothing of accepting Christ as Savior, then
(hopefully) making him Lord later. The
plain teaching of Scripture is that Jesus is Lord (cf. Rom. 10:9-10), independent
of any human response. The question in
salvation is not whether Jesus is Lord, but whether we are submissive to His
lordship. Saul was, from the moment of
his conversion to the end of his life.”
I realize that there are some people who do not agree
with this quote from MacArthur, but as I look at it I find no fault with
it. I have to agree that Jesus Christ is
Lord as I believe this what the Scripture teaches.
We see Saul’s willingness to follow the instructions that
the Lord gives to him that is to get up and enter the city of Damascus, and then
someone will tell him what he must do.
Now we see the notation from Luke that the men who were with him were speechless
as they heard the voice, however unlike Saul they saw no one. This even actually happened to Saul as Luke
makes an historical text about it. After
getting up Saul needed help to get into the city for he was blinded and so the
men had to take him by the hand to lead him there. Can you imagine what Saul may have been
thinking as his anticipation to come to the city of Damascus was so much
different than how it turned out. He did
not enter the city in triumph to capture God’s chosen people, but he entered
the city blinded by the very God he was persecuting.
Saul was crushed by God and he was probably lower than he
had ever been before, and so now that he was this low God would begin to use
him as he would be a most useful man of God the church had ever known. What a day for Saul as he would never forget
it.
Now we move onto looking at the “communion,” the last
sub-section in our main section of “Faith in the Savior,” and as mentioned
yesterday it is very short. “9 And he
was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”
When we were studying the book of John we looked at the
section from chapter four that found Jesus talking to the “women at the well,”
and the disciples when they came back to Jesus after buying food wanted to give
Him some food, but Jesus was not physically hungry as He had been doing
spiritual things in talking to this woman and so His physical hunger was not
there. I am not sure if this was the case
with Saul, but he did take some time to reflect on what just happened to him
and I believe that because of that he did not need anything to eat or
drink. Moses had a similar experience
when on the mountain with the Lord as he did not eat or drink. John MacArthur writes that “God led him through
the process of reconstructing everything he was and did. Although salvation is an instantaneous transformation
from death to life, darkness to light, it takes time to plumb the depths of its
meaning and richness. Saul began that
process.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: Thinking on the
thought that salvation happens in an instant, and one needs to reflect on it
afterwards, then I have to believe that this is a lifetime process for as one
grows in the Lord it is good to be reminded of that wonderful experience of
when I became a believer.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust that the Lord will give me confidence
in my newer way of teaching in our Sunday school class.
Memory verses: Psalm 143:10, Philippians 4:8 “10 Teach me to
do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy
of praise, dwell on these things.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Fear not, for henceforth you
shall catch men” (Luke 5:10).
Today’s Bible
question: “Who said, ‘I have drunk
neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord’?”
Answer in our next SD.
12/28/2017 11:09 AM
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