What more shall I say? ∙

What more shall I say? ∙

The two spies returned to Joshua and told him what they had learned, “The LORD has given us the whole land, for all the people in the land are terrified of us.” – Joshua 2:24

Hebrews 11:31 It was by faith that Rahab the harlot was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Do you always believe what you hear or read on the Internet?

In 2012-2013, State Farm ran a TV Commercial which has come to be called, “The Internet and French Model.” A man named Mike is reporting an accident using his new State Farm mobile app. His neighbor walks by and she says, “I thought State Farm didn’t have all those apps.” Mike asked, “where did you hear that?” She responds, “the Internet.” Mike somewhat amazed queries, “and you believed it?” She responds, “yeah, they can’t put anything on the Internet that is not true.” Mike asks, “where did you hear that?” And they both respond simultaneously, “the Internet!”

The commercial ends with his neighbor introducing her date that she met on the Internet. She tells Mike that he’s a “French model.” He awkwardly mouths the words, “Ah, Bonjour.” Of course, the audience left aghast at the utter naïveté of the lady who believes everything she reads on the Internet.

Perhaps the best choice is to adhere to the sagacious advice of former president Ronald Reagan, “Trust but Verify.”

Long before the Internet and even without streaming 24×7 news services, word of major world events still got around. While the nation of Israel was wandering in the wilderness, news out of Egypt was spreading throughout the region. Stories were told and retold about how the God of Israel had brought the land of Egypt to its knees. Most of the army of Egypt had been destroyed. The God of Israel freed the Jewish people from their slavery and bondage by His mighty hand.

At that time, Egypt had the most powerful army on the face of the planet. No one had ever stood before Egypt’s armies and defeated them. They had mastered the use of what was then the new unmatched weapon of the day, the chariot. No doubt merchants and travelers had been telling and retelling the stories for decades. Undoubtedly, wealthy powerful cities such as Jericho had fortified their defenses to prepare for a possible invasion. But who could resist the power of the living God?

People were living in fear of the day that the armies of Israel would appear to take possession of “The Promised Land” that their God had sworn to give them. 40 years had come and gone, and the people of Jericho were still fearful of what the Lord might one day do.

Joshua 2:8-11

 8 Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them.

 9 “I know the LORD has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror.

 10 For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. . .

 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.

Rahab was no princess. As a matter of fact, she is better known to biblical history as Rahab the harlot. But when she heard the truth regarding the Lord God of Israel, she believed in Him. Rahab dared to stand alone because she knew it was right. Rahab knew the risks of helping the spies, concealing them, deceiving their would-be captors, and helping them to escape. She provided the first “Hiding Place” much like the Dutch family of Corrie ten Boom during World War II.

Stellar reputations or the lack thereof never prevent people from going from unbelief to faith, from gross immorality to risking it all for the sake of what is right.

Joshua ordered two spies to go to Jericho to get the lay of the land. He directed them to secretly go to Rahab’s house. But they must have been seen. Somehow, word got out that they had come to her house. The king of Jericho sent out his stormtroopers to capture the Jewish spies. Rahab risked her life. She hid them and lied to protect them. They were able to escape alive from their pursuers. However, Rahab requested something in return for her hospitality, kindness, and protection. When the city was conquered, she wanted to be spared along with her family. The two spies agreed (Joshua 2:12-23). And it was so (Joshua 6:17).

Hebrews 11:31 It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

The two spies returned to Joshua and told him what they had learned, “The LORD has given us the whole land, for all the people in the land are terrified of us” (Joshua 2:24).

REFLECT & PRAY

The Father values faith and obedience even in the small details.

Father I long to be faithful and obedient, even when it involves risk and loss. Encourage me to be bold, daring, and faithful.

INSIGHT

But there’s more, the Father is always full of surprises.

After Rahab cleaned up her act and left her salacious life behind her, she became a part of the nation of Israel. She got married to a man named Salmon. They had a son named Boaz. Boaz was kind and generous and became a wealthy man. One day he found a young Moabitess, a widow, working in his fields. For Boaz, it was love at first sight. It turned out that her dead husband was a near kinsman. And Boaz had the right to become her kinsman-redeemer. He had to pull a few strings but eventually, he married her.

Her name was Ruth. Ruth and Boaz had a son. Their son’s name was Obed. None of this would’ve been very important except for the fact that Obed also had a son and his name was Jesse.

Now the name Jesse may sound very familiar. For you see Jesse was the father of David. And the great, great, great, . . . great-grandson of David is the Lord Jesus Christ.

A small deed done in faith for the right reasons at the right time for the right people had consequences beyond anybody’s wildest imagination. At the time, only the Father knew in advance that Rahab would be the distant ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5-6,16).

Putting it another way. Rahab went against the tradition, custom, religion, and laws of Jericho. She stood alone and did what was right. If Rahab had refused to do what is right, would she have ever married and become part of the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Now is always the right time to do the right thing for the right reasons.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 2-03-2

Despite fear do right

Aslab
Aslan

Despite fear do right

For such a time as this. – Esther 4:14

Esther 3:8-13

 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain.”

 9 “If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed.”

 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children,

Esther 4:11-15

 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.”

 12 They related Esther’s words to Mordecai.

 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.

 14 “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

“God is never bound by our faithlessness or cowardice. He desires to use us to bless His people, but if we fail to trust Him, He will use someone else. But He will always accomplish His will” (Stanley).

Throughout history, people overcame fear and rose to the occasion. They chose to risk their safety, their families, and their very lives to act on behalf of endangered, marked-for-death Jewish people. Unlike Queen Esther, these heroic people were not Jewish. Regardless of their ethnicity, they chose to protect and save the children of Israel who were threatened and imperiled. Consider Oskar Schindler (Schindler’s List), Corrie ten Boom, or the entire nation of Albania during World War II.

At Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Israel, there is a garden, The Righteous Among the Nations. His purpose is to remember and honor those men and women who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jewish people.

Esther had choices. She could’ve reasoned that she might escape the genocidal decree of King Ahasuerus to annihilate the Jewish people in Persia by simply hiding her Jewish ethnicity. Mordecai was quite clear that such a plan would not succeed.

Under the threat of death, with the outcome unknown, she chose to risk it all. Why? Because she realized that the Father had placed her in the palace, as queen of Persia, for such a time as this. The book of Esther is the only book in the Old Testament that does not have the word God and it. Yet the Father is present on every page. He is working behind the scenes invisibly without a spoken word to achieve His perfect plan. When a child of the King becomes convinced of this fact in their own mind, they realize that they are invincible until the will of the Father is accomplished in and through them.

Esther came to this realization. She is ready to die to save her people, the Jewish people. Her words echo down through the centuries to inspire every child of the King.

Esther 4:16 If I perish, I perish.

But there’s more. Once we are convinced of what is right for us to do, we are compelled to do it or we willfully sin.

James 4:17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

REFLECT & PRAY

It is always right to do right. The Father places each child of the King in His kingdom at the appropriate time in history to accomplish His will through and in them on earth as it is in heaven. For some of us, that time is special and obvious, “For such a time as this.”

Father, help me to be sensitive to Your guidance to know when and how to act. Strengthen me to be “all in” no matter what.

INSIGHT

Fear is a natural and normal human emotion. It often provides the adrenaline necessary to fight or take flight.

“When something threatens our lives, we naturally feel great fear. There is no sin in this. It’s how we respond to that fear – with a courageous trust in God or a spineless desire for self-preservation – that makes the difference” (Stanley).

What is fear? We all know what it is like to be afraid. Fear is emotional foreboding or dread of impending trouble or sorrow. Fear can result from real dangers or challenges. Fear can also be the result of imaginary dangers or challenges. This type of fear has no objective or logical basis. It is irrational. But it is real fear nonetheless to the one who experiences it.

Fear whether it is rational or irrational can be exchanged with faith and confidence, and the reverential fear of the Father our awesome God.

Where did fear begin? The Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey the Father, they lost their innocence. As a consequence, sin was introduced into the human race. With sin came fear.

Genesis 3:7-10

 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

 8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.

 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

 10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

Fear often immobilizes people, particularly when unrighteousness bubbles up from within.

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flees when there is no one pursuing, but the righteous is as confident as a lion.

All children of the King have a unique, unsurpassed Redeemer Who in has come into their lives to liberate them from fear. The grip of fear is broken by the Lord Jesus Christ, through His sinless life, redemptive death, and resurrection. He now sits in heavenly places at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 1:20) making intercession for each child of the King (Hebrews 7:25).

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love, because perfect love expels all fear. . .. the one who fears is not perfected in love.

The Lord Jesus Christ sets us free from fear. He purges each child of the King from a lifetime of fear. We have been liberated once and for all. By faith, we actualize our freedom from fear and newfound confidence.

Jesus Calling November 9

Sit quietly with Me, letting all your fears and worries bubble up to the surface of your consciousness. There, in the Light of My Presence, the bubbles pop and disappear. However, some fears surface over and over again, especially fear of the future. You tend to project yourself mentally into the next day, week, month, year, decade; and you visualize yourself coping badly in those times. What you are seeing is a false image, because it doesn’t include Me. Those gloomy times that you imagine will not come to pass since My Presence will be with you at all times.

When a future-oriented worry assails you, capture it and disarm it by suffusing the Light of My Presence into that mental image. Say to yourself, “Jesus will be with me then and there. With His help, I can cope!” Then, come home to the present moment, where you can enjoy Peace in My Presence.

Many of you receive a copy of the Reflection in your email.

Often after it is published, I review it one more time and tweak it.

To read the most up-to-date version, please click on the title.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

Debt forgiveness

Aslab
Aslan

Debt forgiveness

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9

Colossians 2:13-14

 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Robert F. Smith, a billionaire investor, and philanthropist was the commencement speaker at Morehouse College in May 2019. During his speech, he announced that a grant was established to pay off all student loan debt for Morehouse graduates in the Class of 2019.

Each graduate’s student loan debt would be paid in full. There were approximately 400 students and the gift is estimated at $40 million.

Smith gave the ultimate graduation gift – total debt forgiveness!

What is your first thought? “I wish I were a member of the graduating class,” right?

Well, if you are one of the Father’s children, you too are a member of a very special class, His forever family. The Father is far wealthier than Mr. Smith. And He has established a grant for each of His children to eliminate all of their sin debt. There was a high price to be paid. But His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, gladly paid that price. Now, forgiveness is available.

In 33 AD, when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, all of the sins that each of us would ever commit were still future. We would not be born for over 1900 years. He lumped them all together into one long list. Paul calls it a certificate of debt. Christ paid for all of our sins before we ever even committed them. He paid for them all at once and once for all.

The Father gave the ultimate eternal gift – total sin-debt forgiveness!

Colossians 2:13-14

 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

 14 by canceling the certificate of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

The Greek word translated certificate of debt or record of debt is cheirographon. It literally means made with hands. It comes from cheir – hand, and poieo – to make. It refers to a handwritten record of debt, a record of indebtedness. Paul uses this term to describe God’s record of charges against individual people for breaking His law. In our culture, we would call it the list of charges against us. Each of us has our own list. The Lord Jesus Christ took each of our individual lists and nailed them all to the cross. When He died, He announced for all time, tetelestai, “it is finished,” “paid in full” (John 19:30).

The entire debt was paid in full.

REFLECT & PRAY

Psalms 32:1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven; whose sin is covered!

Father how remarkable it is that all of our sins have been paid for. Thank You that we have been forgiven and continue to be forgiven as we recognize our sin and receive forgiveness and cleansing. What a wonderful plan!

INSIGHT

Forgiveness has a bit of a strange implementation. It comes in two phases. A rough analogy is buying a home or a car and making payments over time. First, you make a down payment, one lump sum. Then for the term of the contract, you continue to make monthly payments until the debt is paid in full.

Do you remember the freedom from bondage you experienced when you paid off your first loan? And that was only financial bondage. What about the bondage of sin? Do you think there is a way to actually pay off or work out of the bondage that sin has wrought? The debt is too great! And there is too little time. And additional sin debt continues to accrue to your account. It is simply beyond human ability alone.

The Father knows this. In His great love, paid your debt Himself. Regardless of your motivation, trying to pay off your debt will lead to frustration and ultimate failure.

“There is nothing you can to do make God love you more! There is nothing you can do to make God love you less” (Stanley)!

When we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Father made something like a down payment. But what He provided was far more than a down payment. He made a one-time gift or endowment. He provided one large lump sum of forgiveness for each of us. He deposited all of the forgiveness we would ever need into our personal forgiveness accounts. At the moment we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, we made one large withdrawal from our forgiveness fund. At that moment we were totally forgiven for all that we had done up until that time. Many of us can recall the tremendous relief of the burden being removed.

But as we all know, life goes on and we keep right on sinning. What happens then? All of our sins have been paid for. No further payment can be made.

But we no longer feel clean. Sometimes we feel alienated and separated from the Father. Sometimes circumstances, disappointment, tragedy, anger, or rage get the best of us. Yet all of our sins have already been paid for. All of the forgiveness we will ever need is already available. We do not need to acquire more forgiveness; we need only to experience the forgiveness we already have.

That is where the lump sum endowment comes in. There is enough forgiveness to fully pay off every sin that we would ever commit. The barrel has no bottom. Morning by morning new mercies are seen. It is impossible to draw down past the Father’s mercy and forgiveness.

All we have to do is make a withdrawal. We draw down our forgiveness through the act of confession. The Father simply applies forgiveness to our current sins. We are forgiven at that moment in time. We experience cleansing and restoration. Unfortunately being fallen creatures we will continue to sin. As we sin, we confess, and the Father applies the forgiveness we already have to our lives.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confession clears our hearts spiritually and makes it possible for us to once more experience deep fellowship with God. Unconfessed sin makes us weak, discouraged, and ultimately miserable (Stanley). The need to confess new unconfessed sin is an important reminder to always keep our record clean and straight.

Many of you receive a copy of the Reflection in your email.

Often after it is published, I review it one more time and tweak it.

To read the most up-to-date version, please click on the title.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What is your AQ?

Aslab
Aslan

What is your AQ?

Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. – Hebrews 5:8

2 Peter 1:5-8

 5 Applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,

 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

AQ, Adversity Quotient, measures the ability of a person to deal with the adversities of life. Paul Stoltz coined the term in 1997, in his book Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities.

AQ is commonly known as the science of resilience. AQ has to do with how we respond to the ebb and flow of life. AQ encompasses our reaction to all types of stress, from mere everyday hassles to the torments of deep disappointment and sorrow.

AQ has proven to be a strong indicator of an individual’s success in life. It is an accurate predictor of one’s attitude, adaptation to changes in the environment, stress management, persistence, determination, wisdom, and character.

Like IQ, AQ can be modified and developed. AQ enhancement programs often result in improvements of 11-23%. Increased AQ often results in increased productivity, capacity, performance, innovation, and morale (PEAK Learning).

These modern scientific “discoveries” were first revealed in the Scriptures. The Father has been in the business of developing His children’s AQ for over 4500 years

The scriptural terminology varies somewhat. The Scriptures speak of proven character, self-control, moral excellence, diligence, integrity, perseverance, endurance, maturity, hope, reverence, and godliness.

REFLECT & PRAY

Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! – 2 Corinthians 4:17

Father, I am limited in my comprehension of your ways. Enable me to begin to grasp the immensity and perfection of Your eternal perspective and purpose.

INSIGHT

The Father employs intriguing methods to develop AQ. He introduces trials, difficulties, and tests into our lives. He starts small. As we develop and mature and demonstrate character and integrity, the challenges often become more difficult. AQ develops in a fashion similar to muscle. AQ is strengthened through exercise and exertion.

Romans 5:3-4

 3 When we run into problems and trials, we know that they help us develop endurance.

 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope.

James 1:2-4

 2 When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Hardship and adversity have a way of wearing us down. That is all part of the process. The difficulties of life may seem overwhelming and ceaseless. We often feel abandoned.

Paul was a man with tremendous AQ. He was determined to remain faithful and overcome every obstacle. Paul was successful. His responses to hardship revealed his character and the depth of his relationship with the Father. He had learned the art and science of surrender rather than resistance to the Father’s will for his life.

Rather than seeking to escape, he learned to depend upon the Father’s power to go through the great challenges that he faced. He developed a unique trait that should be common for all of the Father’s children, going forward on his knees.

Dr. Hudson Taylor, of the China Inland Mission, wrote to Jonathan Goforth, that to be successful in China. “you must go forward on your knees.”

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen” (Elisabeth Kübler-Ross).

Psalms 121:1-3

 1 I look up to the mountains – does my help come from there?

 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!

 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.

Psalms 27:13-14

 13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD.

Our certain confidence in knowing and experiencing the Father’s goodness while we live encourages us to be brave, courageous, and wait expectantly.

The Father we serve is worthy of our loyalty and confidence. Adversity is one of the strategies He employs to mature our faith, conform us to the likeness of His Son, and fulfill His unique plan for each of our lives. Temporary afflictions yield “an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). When we give Him the freedom to work, His light will illumine us and shine through us in each trial.

When God wants to drill a man and thrill a man and skill a man, when God wants to mold a man to play the noblest part; when He yearns with all His heart to create so great and bold a man that all the world shall be amazed, watch His methods, watch His ways! How He ruthlessly perfects whom He royally elects!

How He hammers him and hurts him, and with mighty blows converts him, into trial shapes of clay which only God understands; while his tortured heart is crying, and he lifts beseeching hands! How he bends but never breaks.

When his good He undertakes; how He uses whom He chooses, and which every purpose fuses him; By every act induces him to try His splendor out – God knows what He’s about (anonymous).

Many of you receive a copy of the Reflection in your email.

Often after it is published, I review it one more time and tweak it.

To read the most up-to-date version, please click on the title.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 12-20-9

Trustworthy servant-leader ∙

Aslab
Aslan

Trustworthy servant-leader ∙

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service. – 1 Timothy 1:12

1 Timothy 1:12-16

 12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him,

 13 even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.

 14 Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

 15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” – and I am the worst of them all.

 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

American baseball has a way of teaching kids a lot of things. There are lots of spoken and unspoken rules. For example, how do kids choose sides when putting together pickup baseball teams?

Most of the kids in a local neighborhood know who the best players are. Normally the best two are appointed to be the team captains. As captains, they do the choosing.

Who chooses first? There is an unspoken rule that everyone knows involving a bat. A bat is gently tossed toward vertically to one of the captains with the heavy side down. The captain catches the bat with one hand. The location where his fist grasps the bat designates the starting place for what happens next. The other captain puts his fist directly above the first captain’s fist. The two captains continue alternately gripping the bat moving upward. As they approach the top, there is not enough room for the one who makes the last attempt to completely grab the bat.

The captain with a full grip of the bat is declared the winner and gets to go first. The two captains would then alternate choosing until enough players are picked for the teams.

Of course, the third-best player would be chosen first. Then the fourth is selected, etc. Following this method, the opposing sides would be more or less balanced in skill and liability. Poor players are considered a liability. Most likely they are not that skilled in hitting, fielding, or throwing. But they would make the team also.

Another unspoken rule is taken for granted. The players never choose to be part of the team. Only the captains have that prerogative.

The apostle Paul was well aware of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ alone chose him for service. Think about it. Never for a moment did Paul think that he chose Christ. He marveled that Christ chose him. Paul never considered himself worthy of being welcomed, forgiven, or chosen. In fact, he saw himself as a violent, hateful, proud, insolent, arrogant opponent of the truth. Paul was, after all, a blasphemer of the Father he thought he worshiped.

“It was as if, when he was heading straight for destruction, Jesus Christ had laid his hand upon his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks. It was as if, when he was busy throwing away his life, Jesus Christ had suddenly brought him to his senses” (Barclay).

How could a holy and righteous God welcome and forgive a sinner such as himself? The whole concept left him incredulously scratching his head. Initially, Paul could hardly take it all in. Pondering his relationship with the Father, the Lord God Almighty, Paul is rendered awestruck and aghast.

How could it possibly be? Rather than becoming the target of the Father’s disdain and wrath, something entirely unexpected, even shocking occurred. “[Paul] never got beyond a response of wonder and gratitude to God’s act of saving him ‘warts and all.’ We must never move beyond the excitement and joy our conversion generates in us. (Lea and Griffin)”

The Father’s amazing grace and mercy overflowed, covered, and canceled out the egregious blemishes of Paul’s sinful past. This proud, tenacious, persistent, resilient, energetic, powerful man was assuredly humbled, and deeply ashamed.

In time, Paul eventually worked through it. He was left with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. His praise overflowed with thankfulness and respect. Paul thanked the Father for forgiving him, trusting him, choosing him, selecting him to service, and enabling him to carry out his appointed tasks.

What would be a natural, normal response to the realization of being so loved? What do reconciliation, restoration, and redemption yield in the human heart?

REFLECT & PRAY

Because of love, the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners from their sins, even the worst of them.

Father, I have only begun to grasp the magnitude of my sin. Open my eyes to see and fully grasp the certain eternal separation from You that loomed over me. Enable me to comprehend the incomprehensible. Your magnificent lovingkindness has made my scarlet sins whiter than snow.

INSIGHT

Paul now saw himself as God’s man. He was all in and totally devoted to the Father. The Father’s amazing grace, kindness, and mercy had melted Paul’s heart. Paul understood as few do, that undeserving as he was, the Father had still chosen him.

Paul summed it up in a few words that echo throughout all eternity, “it is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ – and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15-16).

Paul was brilliant, highly educated, and religiously devout. What was his problem? He was ignorant of the actual identity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“The simple mention of the word ‘sinners’ causes Paul once again to reflect upon his own life. The term “worst” is literally “first” (protos). The term refers not to the sequence of Paul’s sin or conversion but to its magnitude. This may well seem to be an exaggeration to the reader, but for Paul, it is no exaggeration (1 Corinthians 15:9, 10; Galatians 1:13; Ephesians 3:8)” (Moss).

He wasn’t using ignorance as an excuse. Rather, he realized that he had lived in darkness and had now seen the light. He comes to grips with how dark the darkness truly was. What was Paul’s great sin? “His sin of aggressively tearing down the work that God was building up was the worst kind of sin” (Constable).

Paul’s past life and despicable behavior, rather than being an impediment to service, became the springboard that propelled his devotion.

Because Paul was the chief of sinners, his salvation and redemption were totally undeserved, unmerited, and unexpected, there is hope for the rest of us.

The light still shines bright.

The Lord Jesus Christ is true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:4-5, 9).

Paul the child of darkness became a child of the light.

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Often after it is published, I review it one more time and tweak it.

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