Changing Lives & Communities - 31 Days in Acts

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Still in chapter 9 for Day 17 of 31 Days in Acts in the passage from verse 20 to 31


What stands out to us today?


Certain words stand out in Verses 20-22

Immediately
Still in Damascus the first thing he did after he had learned from the other disciples was to get out and preach the Gospel.

Amazed
Those who heard knew who he was but what he was now doing did not match up to what they had heard about him.

Increased
As he preached he grew stronger in his faith.

Confounded
The Jews could not understand because he was standing up for Jesus and proving who Jesus really was.

Result
He had done an about turn in his beliefs and was not scared to show this.



A Certain group of people & their actions stand out in Verses 23-25

The Jews plotted and watched 
It was the Jews versus the disciples here because as the Jews tried to find the opportunity to take Saul and kill him, Saul and the disciples made their plans and he escaped the clutch of the Jews.
God's hand was obviously at work in the safety of Saul and the ideas of the disciples.
I feel like both sides were cunning in this event one for evil and one for good but we don't use the word cunning in a good way normally so perhaps I should say the Jews were cunning but the disciples were canny ( having or showing shrewdness and good judgement  -  remember I'm a Northern Ireland girl!).

A Certain person & his actions stand out in Verses 26-30
This is not our first mention of Barnabas because we were introduced to him by his other name Jonas in Acts ch.4 v 36  which linked in with the story of Ananias Because of a Lie.

Saul had escaped to Jerusalem but the disciples there did not accept him thinking of what he had been like.  Barnabas however stood as a reference for him and gave a good report of his preaching.

With a good recommendation from Barnabas, Saul was now part of the fellowship in Jerusalem and was proclaiming the gospel until again evil was purposed against him.  The disciples in Jerusalem did the same as those in Damascus, they got him out of the city.

Obviously Saul after having had one type of influence when we meet him at first, now had the opposite type of influence.


Result in Verse  31
The church was growing in a large area and peace was evident there.

A great example of the power of the Gospel to change lives & communities.

I'm trying to read and write about the Book of Acts for 31 Days so please come back and join me for some notes & some thoughts each day. 

As the month goes on each Day's Link will be added in 

The 31 Days in Acts Page

Interested to know more about the Book of Acts?
Then Try these commentaries




Or this Bible Study



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Darkness! Now the True Light! - 31 Days in Acts

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We are in our 16th day and continuing on from the story of Saul we looked at yesterday in Acts ch. 9

Yesterday we had Important Questions and Simple Answers
and today we have more questions and more answers.

Verses 10-16 introduce us to another person who heard the Lord speak to him - Ananias.

This time questions and answers are from both sides in this conversation and in a way it feels like it was a comfortable conversation between friends with no surprise and no question of who Ananias was hearing from, he knew it was the Lord.

Although bad news had gone around about Saul here was a good recommendation from Jesus in verses 15 & 16 because He knew the potential in Saul for the spread of the Gospel and the growth of the church.

Looking back to verses 8 & 9 it is clear that Saul after meeting with the Lord was left sightless so he was in darkness and remained that way for 3 days.  No distraction, so presumably he had all that time to think on who he had heard from and what was said.

But verses 17 & 18 make the difference.

Ananias goes straight away as the Lord directed him to the exact house, finds Saul and tells him who sent him and the reason why he was sent and the darkness Saul was in disappears and he experiences the true light and the cleansing of his sin.

 No doubt, no hesitation, just action on the part of Ananias 

and also 

no doubt, just acceptance on the part of Saul.

Our last verse for today is verse 19 which is often overlooked in this passage but should not be as it shows us something very important that Saul did.

"So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus."

Saul spent time with the disciples before anything else.
Yes the first thing he did was to stay with the people who were already believers and he could learn from them.

Saul may have had this dramatic & dynamic conversion and was now a believer but he also needed to know more about Jesus and become a disciple.

Discipleship is the next step after conversion to ensure the spread of the Good News.

Conversion and Discipleship lead to growth.

I'm trying to read and write about the Book of Acts for 31 Days so please come back and join me for some notes & some thoughts each day. 

As the month goes on each Day's Link will be added in 

The 31 Days in Acts Page

Interested to know more about the Book of Acts?
Then Try these commentaries




Or this Bible Study



Disclaimer:
If buying through Amazon I get a little commission but that does not mean any extra expense to you.

Important Questions, Simple Answers - 31 Days in Acts

Disclaimer:
There is an affiliate link on this blogpost.


This is Sunday and our 15th day of 31 Days in Acts.

Today we are considering a short portion Acts ch. 9 v. 1-9

At the end of chapter 7 there was a mention of a young man called Saul standing in the background with the cloaks of the men who were stoning Stephen.

Then we have a mention of Saul in chapter 8 at the start of it and we see he plays a big part  in the scattering of the believers to various other places - Good out of Evil.

Today we are back to Saul who is still angry, very angry at the believers.  He wants to go out from Jerusalem and hunt down believers in Damascus and bring them back to face some sort of charges.

When he gets near to Damascus he does not find believers, instead Jesus finds him first.
He is stopped by a bright light and hears these words spoken by Jesus

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

and he answers with a question

which is maybe the most important question to ask at this time.

Notably Saul used the word Lord which means that he was in awe and respect of the person behind the voice.

When Jesus replies

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

we do not see or hear any disbelief from Saul, just another question

“Lord, what do You want me to do?”

and Jesus gives a simple command

“Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Although there is no explanation or hint of what may be to come, Saul obeys the Lord.

We should follow Saul's example because the Lord is the one who is the bringer of truth and the one we should respect and obey.

When we truly have met with Jesus we should follow Saul's example.

I'm trying to read and write about the Book of Acts for 31 Days so please come back and join me for some notes & some thoughts each day. 

As the month goes on each Day's Link will be added in 

The 31 Days in Acts Page

Interested to know more about the Book of Acts?
Then Try these commentaries




Or this Bible Study



Disclaimer:
If buying through Amazon I get a little commission but that does not mean any extra expense to you.