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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Sunday, January 25, 2004 The Way to Conversion |
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Frontline Devotion for
Sunday, January 25, 2004, by Don Kress
Text for the Day: Acts
9:1-25
Today’s text tells what most of us would agree is the greatest conversion story
of the Bible. There are so many different plots within the twenty-five verses
of today’s text that it’s been a difficult exercise for me in choosing the focus
of this devotion. I’ve decided to focus on two themes: the Way, and the nature of conversion.
Saul of Tarsus may have been the greatest earthly enemy that our Lord ever had.
He hated Jesus Christ, and his goal was to exterminate Christ’s followers. After the stoning of Stephen, to which Saul was a witness, great persecution
broke out in Jerusalem against the early Christians, and they scattered or went
underground. The religious leaders in Jerusalem were satisfied that they had
run the Christians out of Jerusalem, but not Saul. So he went to the high
priest and asked permission to go after the men and women of the Way and ferret
them out wherever they had gone, and bring them to justice.
This passage is the first instance in the Bible in which Christianity is
referred to as “the Way.” The Aramaic word for “way” is “derekh,” meaning
“customs” or “manner of life.” Isn’t it interesting that the Jews in 35 A.D.
already recognized that Christians had a different approach to life? Christianity is not only an explanation of life, it is a way of life. It is the
way we treat our own bodies; it is the way we treat other people; it is the
way we handle trouble; it is the way we meet death. Just as the Jews of 1,969
years ago recognized that followers of Christ had a different manner of life, so
do people today. Can people look at your manner of life and know that you are
one of the Way?
Now, let’s turn to Saul’s conversion. About thirty years ago, my father-in-law
introduced me to the writings of
Dr. J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988), a noted
pastor, teacher, and author of more than 200 hundred books. In his writings on
conversion, Dr. McGee states, “every conversion experience requires the Holy
Spirit using the Word of God through a man of God.” He goes on to say that
“God uses a human instrument in the conversion of every individual, although
that individual may not be present at the moment of the conversion.” There’s no
doubt that the Holy Spirit, and Christ himself, were at work in what happened to
Saul on the road to Damascus. But what made Saul surrender so easily? Riding
on horses or donkeys, it was a journey of about ten days from Jerusalem to
Damascus. On his way to Damascus, Saul had plenty of time to think. He no
doubt saw in his mind repeated images of Stephen’s shining face as he met his
death, and he heard repeatedly Stephen’s words as he faced his executioners. He had time to reflect on the patient way with which the followers of “the Way”
met their sufferings at his hand. We know that Saul was a learned man and that
he knew a great deal about the Word of God, and his journey to Damascus afforded
him time to meditate on that Word. Perhaps, deep in Saul’s heart, there began
to arise a feeling that the gospel of Christ could be true. So Dr. McGee’s
formula works in Saul’s conversion experience: the Holy Spirit was at work
using the Word of God through a man of God - Stephen - all of which worked
together to enable Saul, when confronted by the Lord Jesus, to so readily ask
“Lord, what will you have me to do?”.
Will you be the human instrument Christ uses in the conversion of someone some
day? You could be. That’s why it’s so important that people can look at your
manner of life and know that you are one of the Way.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I realize that you have the power to convert even your
greatest enemy into becoming your greatest disciple. Help me to be open to
being the human instrument that you will use as the catalyst in someone’s
conversion. Amen.
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