On A Roll

In Acts 9 we find Saul condemning more and more followers of Jesus.  He has gotten so good at it that now he is going back for more indictment letters to get some more.  Saul was on a roll and believers everywhere were having to face the hatred and evil of this one man who was intent on stopping this Jesus Revolution!!  Here is how scripture records the steps of this murderous man.  Acts. 9:1-2 -  Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.  Saul had his letters of indictment and he was on his way to Damascus to get more prisoners to take back to Jerusalem.  But God had  a different route in life planned for him and it is found in verses 3 - 9  3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 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.  

I guess you could say "his lights were turned out."  Jesus, the true light, met him on the road he was traveling on and stopped his murderous path with the power of God.  Keep in mind that Jesus had gone to heaven already, and came back to earth to meet Saul on the road and change his plans for the day.  I guess you could say this was a heavenly "stop!"  Whatever it was, Saul fell to the ground and met Jesus for the first time.  It is interesting that the other men traveling with him heard the voice, but didn't see the light, so they could still see.  That pinpointed light was for Saul and Saul alone, and his life, and the work of Jesus would never be the same.  This was just the beginning of a very vibrant life of purpose that Jesus set Saul on.  Saul, the one killing the followers of Jesus, now has met Jesus himself and he will never be the same.  I can't help but think about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4:7 and how her life was changed in an instant as he gave her the "living water", of which you will never thirst again.  She didn't know at the time who she was talking to, but he still changed her life. Jesus told the Samaritan woman to give him a drink and he told Saul to go ahead and go into Damascus and then he would be told what to do.  Both followed the Lord's instructions and both were changed.  When they followed Jesus, Jesus started putting a purpose in their life that set their life on a roll.

When you met Jesus, what happened?  Did you accept Him as Savior and Lord?  Did you find in His Word your instructions by Him for what you were to do next?  If so, did you do it?  If we are going to truly be disciples, then we need to know what to do next.  You know, after meeting Jesus.  Oh, he probably didn't shine a pinpointed light on you when you were walking down the street, or ask you for a drink of water.  But you were still saved for a purpose.  Today we have too many Pinball Machine Believers.  They are believers who just bump around wherever the situations of life bounce them without any purpose or direction. Our life is supposed to have much more purpose than just bouncing around from here to there.  Just keep in mind.  When God stops you in your tracks and saves you, then your real life just begins, and that life is a life of purpose centered on serving God and Him alone. 

When you do that, you are "On a Roll" and rolling in the right direction.  If you haven't gotten rolling yet, now is the time to get in God's Word, get in an accountability group, and hang around some people who know their purpose in serving Christ. All of that will set you in the right direction and your life will take on a purpose that will impact this world for Jesus Christ!

Harry Truman once said, Men who live in the past remind me of a toy I'm sure all of you have seen. The toy is a small wooden bird called the "Floogie Bird." Around the Floogie Bird's neck is a label reading, "I fly backwards, I don't care where I'm going. I just want to see where I've been."  Time to quit living in the past and starting living in the wonderful future of God's purposes for your life.  That kind of living will give you the purpose you need to make every day count for something or someone.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren