Series: Roads
Message: The Road to Damascus
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Daily Walk: Japhet De Oliveira
Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 84:9-12.
Read: Acts 9:1-22 (Message). Note 1-3 insights or questions that arise from the paraphrase.
Reflect: What we believe affects what we do. Our core values drive our actions. Our actions reveal our character. Our behavior is governed by our faith. We probably all agree with these basic premises. Perhaps the last one is a bit harder to accept for some of us. The difficulty is that we apply the formula to bad things but not always to good things. This is because when we do something bad, it shocks us and those connected to us. It grates against something in our core being. Think of the most horrific crimes committed by humans against other humans today. We don’t even have to turn on the TV to find out about them anymore. Every channel of social media knows that bad news sells faster than good. We don’t want to admit this. We don’t like it. So we fight hard against evil. This is good thing. We understand that context shapes us. We understand that genetics affects us. We acknowledge that Satan tempts us and causes us make bad decisions. Yet we expect more of ourselves and of each other. We call for more. We want a better present and future.
So should not this reality give us pause for thought when we see others fail? Should we not expect that if the beliefs, values, and faith are correct that behavior would follow?
Our friend Paul understood this all too well. His people, his faith tribe, had lost all that God blessed them with. At least they believed this to be the case. So they tried—by their own control—to obey God perfectly. They tried with blind zeal to actually be the voice of God for everyone. To keep everyone in line. People continue to do this today. This approach has huge consequences, as Charles Kimball shares:
In every religion, truth claims constitute the foundation on which the entire structure rests. However, when particular interpretations of these claims become proportions requiring uniform assent and are treated as reggie doctrines, the likelihood of corruption in that tradition rises exponentially….Authentic religious truth claims are never as inflexible as zealous adherents insist….With potentially destructive consequences, people presume to know God, abuse sacred texts, and propagate their particular visions of absolute truth (When Religion Becomes Evil, pp.41;46).
Recalibrate:
Respond: Pray for clarity to trust God more.
Research: How many years would have Paul trained to be in the position that he was?