𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬...

It’s a long one. I hope you’ll bear with me… God’s been tickling me with growth lately and I got excited to share it with y’all! 

That’s a funny way to describe it. I wonder if you know what I mean by “tickling me with growth”? Those times you can feel He’s working on something in you but you can’t tell exactly what it is He’s doing or what direction He’s headed. Or, rather, what direction He’s got you headed. Like being tickled, you’re not sure you like it but you’re not sure you don’t like it either.

An idea of what He was working on started firming up in me last week. It’s an idea we’ve heard a million times but I still struggle to implement in my own life, in my own psyche: Stress is bad. Know what else? I propose to you that stress is the opposite of faith. Think on that… Stress is the opposite of faith. When we start stressing, it’s because we are predicting the probability of one outcome over another. We start relying on probabilities and statistics calculated in our own fallible weakness, rather than relying on faith in God’s plan. God has so much more up His sleeve than my brain could possibly account for but I still try to rely on my own puny logic.

I happened to be reading Acts 9 the other night. Turns out that’s the chapter when Saul becomes Paul. Let’s look at that transformation from the eyes of an early disciple in Damascus: 

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𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘳. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘸𝘩𝘰, 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴’ 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩). 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦-𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴. 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴!   

𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘈𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥! 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦! 𝘋𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦? 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘯, 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘐’𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯. 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵, 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨.   

𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘰𝘰! 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮? 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰… 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.   

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥.  

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 – 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘵? 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦! 𝘚𝘈𝘜𝘓 𝘐𝘚 𝘏𝘌𝘙𝘌! 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦?! 𝘞𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭! 𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴? 𝘉𝘢𝘩! 𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥! 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵! 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘸!  

𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘈𝘯𝘦𝘸... 𝘖𝘩… 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘪𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 - 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘧 𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦? 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘔𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶...

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At least, that’s probably how I would have reacted had I been an early disciple in Damascus. If God can take a situation as dire as Saul coming into town for the express intent of persecution and turn it around, then what events in my life could possibly indicate a future set in stone? I sincerely believe I would’ve predicted my impending death when Saul started on the road to Damascus. I would’ve been wrong. If God can choose the man with the hardest heart towards His people and use him to become one of the most prominent voices in our Christian history, then what possibilities exist in my life that my logical brain is missing? I certainly never would have thought to pick Saul for the job.

I read this chapter just after midnight, 2017. My thoughts were swirling with all the implications of what God had just revealed but, mostly, I kept thinking that this demonstration of faith is where we find our strength and that strength is where we reflect Jesus to the world around us. In this way, we reflect His Gospel both to fellow believers and to those who don’t know Him, so that they, too, can ease their burdens relying on His strength. I decided then that I would write this blog. Not that night, though – I was too tired.

The next morning at church, Brother Stephen read Ephesians 3:1-11 to us. 

· Know who wrote Ephesians? … Paul. 

· Know what he’s talking about in Ephesians 3? …. Sharing the Gospel. 

· Know what basis Paul gives for that being his purpose? … His transformation on the road to Damascus. 

· Do I have to tell you that my head spun? 

My notes from that sermon include lots of exclamation points and the following words: “Ephesians points me from Paul’s miraculous transformation to Jesus’s salvation of Gentiles along with Israel. Extending salvation to the Gentiles was also a miracle!” Brother Stephen’s message that morning (my summation, not his) was to challenge us to resolve to share the Gospel, not just for the new year but every day in every year. God’s assignment to Paul after his transformation is still our assignment today so that more people may discover a life with Christ – along with the joy in the faith and strength that comes with that life. 

I offer you one last note I made during that sermon. Brother Stephen said, “In remembrance of God’s mighty acts in Jesus Christ [the miraculous gift of His Son], we offer ourselves as a sacrifice.” It won’t always be easy to turn a blind eye to logic and rely on faith. It will take much strength at times to trust God’s plan. But that is both the sacrifice and the gift. To refuse our own logic and our own fear is sacrifice, which we offer in gratitude for His gift so He can use us to reach others and which we offer with trust because our God has proven His might so many times. How much more evidence does our logic need to submit to faith?

(1st published January 1, 2017)