Quote from Forum Archives on November 12, 2003, 9:50 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

I'd like to share with you yet another resource. Like many of
the other resources I use, I got this one from Crosswalk.com. I
also frequently use Gospelcom.net as a resource.

Next to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible character that I've
probably learned more from than any other is the apostle Paul
(formerly called Saul). You see, Paul realized what "saved by
grace" really means. Saul had been persecuting people who
followed Jesus Christ because he formerly believed that such
people were blaspheming the Name of Almighty God. But when Saul
was blinded on the road to Damascus by a bright light and
directly confronted by Jesus Christ Himself (in ascended form),
Saul became temporarily blinded in sight, but awakened in
spirit. Once he realized the sin of his life, Saul was
transformed, had his name changed to Paul, and became the
apostle to the Gentile world (because the Jews chased him away,
everywhere he went).

Like Paul, I've come to realize that my life has been equally
marred by sin. Choices I've made have created consequences in
my life, some of which I must live with - and make right, just
as Paul had to deal with poor eyesight, a "thorn in his flesh",
and a desire to make right the things that were wrong.

Are you prepared, first, to set your own life straight, then to
reach out to others? That's what will be motivating me this
week.

Dear Jesus, I am grateful that You came to seek and save the
lost. I am grateful that You chose a man like Paul to build the
church that went out into the world - also to seek and save the
lost. I am grateful that You work today through ordinary
people. Make me Your ambassador, just as You did for Paul. I
simply want to serve You in any way that I can because I love
You.

Yours in Christ,
Brian
_____________________________

Harvest Daily Devotional

November 12, 2003

Characterized by Prayer

"The Lord said, 'Go over to Straight Street, to the house of
Judas. When you arrive, ask for Saul of Tarsus. He is praying
to me right now.' " (Acts 9:11)

When God told Ananias to look for Saul, He said he would be
praying. Sure enough, that is exactly what Ananias found him
doing. I think Saul probably was asking God to forgive all the
wrongs he had done. Can you imagine how hard it would be to
accept God's forgiveness if you not only had been a murderer,
but also had deliberately hunted down the followers of Jesus
Christ and brought about their premature deaths? How hard it
would be to have that on your conscience!

But Saul prayed, and in the process discovered that intimacy
could be found with this God whom he had only known in a distant
way before. You can't help but notice as you read through his
epistles that prayer Characterized Paul's life. So many of them
begin or end with beautiful prayers. It was Paul who told us to
pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Paul also practiced what he preached. When he and Silas were
thrown in prison for preaching the gospel, they prayed and sang
praises to God at midnight, and the other prisoners heard them.
Now, who would want to pray at a time like that? But instead of
cursing the men who put them there, they were blessing God. No
wonder the other prisoners were listening to them. This was the
transformation that took place in the life of Paul. He was a
man of prayer.

Are you a man or a woman of prayer? Does prayer characterize
your life? It should. If you want live this Christian life
effectively, then you need to learn how to pray.

Copyright C 2003 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation, copyright C 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights
reserved.

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=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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