Father, as I come before You a little earlier than usual, I would ask that You guide my thoughts to words that You want to be heard. May it not just be the rattling of my tongue but words for that person who needs them. Amen.

Acts 7:58, 8:1-3 (<<click here to read the passage)

Is there anyone you can think of that you would consider, at least from a spiritual perspective, to be a hopeless cause? Maybe it’s someone who wants absolutely nothing to do with God or the church. They might get into anything with no guilt or remorse…the dirtier the better! Or they might be really good people who somewhere along the line totally caste aside anything to do with God. They would do anything to help out their fellow man but keep God out of it. Don’t even mention His name. I know people like that.

Or what about someone who is faithful to the Church? They are there when the doors are open. They support anything the church does. And they might even be pretty good at talking the talk. But truth be told, they may not even really know who God is. They might be able to regurgitate all kinds of religious “speak” but they have never really met the Author. Maybe they think they have but what it all boils down for them is merely a giant checklist of dos and don’ts. Keep that list current and well maintained and they feel they are good to go…but the sad thing is…they’re not. None of the above individuals are. Taking an honest look at their lives we might possibly hold out hope for some, but for many, we could easily say that they were beyond hope…

The man in today’s verses thought he knew who God was. He served Him with great gusto! He abided by all of the rules and regulations…and we know that list was huge! According to his own testimony, he said,

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did…” Acts 22:3 NLT

Saul was his name. Those who stoned Stephen, cast their coats at his feet. (Acts 7:58)

Chapter 8 begins by saying,

Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. v1 NLT

And continues with,

A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison. vs1-3 NLT

I doubt those who followed Jesus in those early days held out any hope whatsoever for Saul. But they were in for the surprise of their life – but more about that later!

For now, don’t give up on those you might deem hopeless. Jesus hasn’t given up on them and we shouldn’t either. God can do the impossible while we just stand back in awe!

Mar 2nd, 2022, Tues, 12:54 pm