Zondervan Blog

Time 2020-10-04 16:04:49

Web Name: Zondervan Blog

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Have you ever noticed how when Saul became Paul, God didn t do all the heavy lifting? He asked a Christian named Ananias to help Saul, and Ananias almost didn t do it... This is an excerpt from Bill Hybel s The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond [eBook]. -Adam Forrest, Zondervan A risky mission for AnaniasGod spoke to Ananias in a vision, telling him to go to Saul and deliver a message. God even provides the address where Saul is staying [Acts 9:10–12]. Hey, God, [Ananias] essentially said, I don t know if you ve neglected to keep up with the daily news or what, but Saul s name is all over the headlines. He s a terrorist, and the whole reason he s in town is to destroy the church that I attend. If you think I m going to actually seek him out, well, then one of us is crazy! ... God stood by his one-word reply: Go. And Ananias went. [Acts 9:13-16] Earlier that day...On the road to Damascus as Saul lay there blinded by the light, God had issued him a triad of instructions, as well: Get up, Saul. Go into the city. And wait. Saul now had a decision to make. What would he do with the direction he d been given? He s a tough guy—should he just stand up, shake his fist at heaven and say, Is that your best shot? In perhaps the wisest move of Saul s life to that point, he chose the other path. The text says that he rose, he was led into the city by his band of brothers (who were probably shocked to be leading their once-fearless, now-helpless leader), and he waited for whatever would happen next [Acts 9:1-9]. Listening to God: A risk worth takingI have read [Acts 9:17–19] many times, and with each reading I find myself trembling just a bit...[Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. ] Think about it: a highly intelligent (though completely misdirected) man—who will someday become a powerful force in the hand of Almighty God—is lying blind on a bed with no clue what he is to do next—other than to wait. If someone could only deliver a small dose of knowledge—a divine insight to him—the blind man not only will regain his sight but will eventually change the whole world for good. Ananias delivers that small dose of knowledge, and Saul goes on to write two-thirds of the New Testament; he plants churches that will have lasting impact; he leaves a legacy, not of bitterness and rage, but of boldness and righteousness and faith. Lost people are saved, believers are encouraged, churches are strengthened and entire communities experience times of great peace, all because two men hear God s whispers and have the guts to respond. I imagine God cheering from heaven s balcony as he watched Ananias enter the home where Saul lay anxiously awaiting the arrival of a man he d never met. You were so ecstatic about your license to kill, I picture God saying to Saul, but I can do you one better than that... You were so ecstatic about your license to kill, I picture God saying to Saul, but I can do you one better than that! You re about to be granted a license to help millions of people throughout history live. You now have full access to grace. Full access to love. Full access to power. Full access to fulfillment. Stay close to me, Saul, and you will want for nothing. I will care for you. I will protect you. I will provide for you. And while we re at it, I ll even give you a new name. Paul—that s who you are now ... Paul, my brand-new creation...I am convinced that one of the major reasons a one-time terrorist [Saul] wound up becoming one of the most impactful Christian leaders in history is because he chose the path of obedience. On day one, when Jesus asked him to do three little things, he did them. And that step of initial obedience began a pattern of submission to the will and ways of God. Despite the eventual respect among believers that Saul—now Paul—would come to enjoy, the apostle Paul never got too seasoned, sophisticated or smart to do anything less than that which Jesus whispered for him to do. How I wish the same always could be said of me!- Bill Hybels (@billhybels) A theme from this story leaped out at me: Small obedience can make a big difference. It doesn t always feel like that, does it? But in the case of Ananias, doing something that frightened him had world-changing results. And for Paul, those small acts of obedience marked a new kind of life, characterized by obedience and full access to grace / love / power / fulfillment. -AF Sometimes life doesn t go the way we expect, which can be especially discouraging when we ve worked hard for a particular goal. But when we feel like saying What s the use, we have reason to hope, as we see in this imaginative portrait of Adam from the Once-A-Day Men Women of the Bible Devotional. -Adam Forrest, Zondervan The Struggles, Failures, and Hope of AdamIt is almost impossible to imagine what Adam s life was like in Eden. He was first and one-of-a-kind: no childhood, no parents, no schooling, no guilt, close contact with God, perfect world, a beautiful garden, knowing animals by name, a spouse created to be an ideal partner, only one rule to follow. Life today is vastly different.Yet we can identify with Adam s struggles:He s embarrassed to admit mistakes and wants to avoid confronting his problems.His kids get into big trouble, spoiling many of his dreams for their future.He works harder and gets less done as life goes on.As an older adult, he has little to show for all his labors except a small farm and scattered grandchildren. Yet even Adam had hope. Genesis 3:15 is God s first piece of Good News: Satan will be defeated; a Savior will come. That promise gave Adam hope, and still lifts us from the pits to the heavens, from What s the use? to Praise the Lord! When life seems barren and pointless, remember that even Adam, who had fallen the furthest, had this hope. [See Romans 5:14-17] Jesus has come, salvation is won and the Bible promises another (second) coming at the end of time when all of our tears will be wiped away. Whenever you re discouraged, remember the Good News. [See 1 Cor. 15:22, 45] PrayerLord, I need encouragement today because...Adam after the Fall. Sculpture by Rodin.Learn more about Once-A-Day Men and Women of the Bible Devotional. Discover more Once-a-Day Devotionals. Suggested PostsListen to the Story of the Bible featuring the Creation story Looking for Your Life s Purpose? via Paul WilliamsThe Good News about Failure via John Ortberg (Image and some styling above are web-exclusive features not included in the text of Once-A-Day Men and Women of the Bible Devotional. Image of sculpture Adam (1881) by Auguste Rodin in Zwolle, the Netherlands; photo by Gerardus (own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer s personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.) Excerpt from the NIV Once-A-Day Devotional for Women.You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:28–30 All of us have experienced times when our lives grew dark — when hope seemed futile, when confusion set in, when we felt alone. David knew how dark life could seem at times. When he wrote this prayer, the memories of fleeing in terror from King Saul s manhunt and hiding in dark, damp caves were fresh in his mind. Yet, he focused on God s light in his life — the light that dispelled the confusion of darkness. With this light, David saw clearly that God s way was perfect, even if it brought him through dark and dangerous valleys. God would always prove himself true to his promises. God would always be with him to protect him. When you are traveling a dark road, remind yourself of David s experience with God — of how God led him through those dark places. Use David s prayer to remind yourself of God s light in your life. PrayerDear Lord, thank you for lighting up my darkness... Learn more about Once-A-Day Devotional for Women. Discover more Once-a-Day Devotionals. Suggested PostsJesus, Light of the World via Ann SpanglerHow Can We Share God s Peace? via Mark Buchanan (Image and some styling above are web-exclusive features not included in the text of Once-A-Day Devotional for Women. Image by Infrogmation; Common factory-produced brass olive oil lamp from Italy, c. late 1800s to 1900; photo illuminated with light from lamp; via Wikimedia Commons. This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer s personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.) I wasn t always a Christian. During my early teens my thoughts began to surprise me: I can t do life on my own anymore, and, You know you don t have to do this on your own, right? That time came to mind when I found this excerpt from Billy Hybels. If you re having weird thoughts you can t quite explain, I encourage you to consider Bill Hybels s perspective. This is an excerpt from The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond [eBook]. -Adam Forrest, Zondervan When weird stuff starts happeningI often talk with people ... who are exploring the Christian faith. During those conversations, it is not uncommon for me to hear tales about how they are going about their normal daily routines when weird stuff starts happening to them. They report feeling restless in life or less satisfied with the direction they re headed. The fun they used to have doesn t feel quite as fun anymore. They grow weary of the way things are and wonder if there might be more to life. And typically it s in a moment like this when they finally agree to come to church. On some occasions, I ll ask folks like these, Do you think anyone is orchestrating those ideas that float through your mind? I mean, do you think your thoughts are just random, or is it possible that God is trying to communicate to you in some way? Usually, they think it s all random. Which usually is when I beg to differ. When the circumstances of your life start to shift, I suggest, at least consider that it might be due to God. When you find yourself in a state of confusion or curiosity about the way things are going, go ahead and ask him if there s something he d like to say to you. Open your hands, open your heart, heighten your attentiveness to any small way he might want to communicate to you, and then agree in advance that you will comply with whatever he says. Why not give it a shot? What s the downside? - Bill Hybels (@billhybels) Taste and see that the LORD is good. Psalm 34:8a Don t sweat it if you can t answer. It s one of the toughest questions I know.It s a tough question because the story of God s work to form, sustain and redeem Creation is the biggest, grandest, wildest, most challenging, rewarding, and sometimes most confusing story I know.This is why I like The Story. It presents the big story of God s work as one seamless narrative, like a novel. The Story uses the NIV translation of the Bible to reveal the biblical storyline chronologically, from Genesis through Revelation. The Bible s stories, poems and teachings are woven together in so to keep the Bible s unified story arc front-and-center. You should hear the unabridged audiobook: Listen to Chapter 1 of The Story, which takes us through the high drama of Creation (0:01), Fall (9:56), and Flood (16:10).When you listen to that chapter I think you ll see why The Story was just honored by the Audie Awards — which is like the Academy Awards for audiobooks — as the Inspirational/Faith-based Nonfiction work of the year.Hearing these Genesis stories, I marvel at the patience of God. This in particular jumped out at me: the first murder on earth was committed out of a motive as simple as envy, and it was committed by one brother against another.The chapter above ends with Noah s family surviving the Flood, and I m thankful God didn t use the opportunity to rid Earth of humanity once and for all! I m looking forward to hearing more of The Story s rendering of the Bible. What jumped out at you from The Story s telling of Genesis?

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