22.232 | A Turn Around | Acts 9:20-22 | God’s Word for Today with Pastor Nazario Sinon

God’s Word For Today

Acts 9:20-22 ESV

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

A TURN AROUND

Undoubtedly, Paul had earned the believers’ trust. He was one among them now. Ananias, earlier, ate with him to affirm his affinity with him. Paul had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, reconciled to God (Rom 5:10). His sins were forgiven so that he had no more requirement to fulfill the Mosaic law to become righteous before God. As a result, he was also reconciled with other Jesus-followers. In a sudden, he was on a mission to proclaim Jesus.

Unlike to most of us, his change was dramatic. His turn around was immediate yet complete. The persecutor of Jesus became Jesus’ preacher. Immediately, he went inside the synagogues preaching, “He is the Son of God.” Everybody was amazed, that was, shocked. It was expected because they were expecting Paul to do harm Jesus’ name and themselves. Thus, they said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”

God is a God of surprises, is He not? Why God chose Saul and not somebody who wasn’t injurious to His honor and people? Later Paul testified, saying, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” [1 Tim 1:12-14] Simply for this reason, God is abundantly gracious and merciful. Everyone is on the level ground because of His mercies, is it not? Paul said, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”[Titus 3:5,6]

Out of God’s love and mercy, the Holy Spirit’s working is making us alive from the dead. Only God can does make the dead bones live, doesn’t it? God had declared, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”[Ezek 36:26,27]

Let us trust God that He is still in the business of changing lives today. For, there is no such thing as a difficult life for God to change. The work of transforming lives is always the work of God, and is always His.

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