A friend of mine who is a doctor said something when we were talking at a party that instantly caught my attention.  He was explaining something about the human body in great detail and then went on to say that some things could only be explained by the “God factor”…..that they were “infinitely” complicated.  

 

I have often thought about this very principle…..just the idea that we, in society, sometimes claim to know much more that what we really know.

 

The reality is…..the MORE we know about things—the more we realize how inadequate we truly are.

 

Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute and probably even kill people who were firing up a movement….and that movement was centered around a man named Jesus Christ.  In the middle of his journey—God showed up.  And when God shows up—our worlds get turned upside down.

 

And so Paul became the very thing that he was hunting……….  He became a champion for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

What strikes me is not what he took on…..but what he gave up.

He gave up years of education.

He gave up elite status.

He gave up privileges that he could enjoy as a citizen.

He gave up a wealthy lifestyle.

He gave up a life of comfort to live a life of purpose.

 

He tossed his life, as he knew it, in the trash and became a mouthpiece to tell the world about Jesus.

 

And in his writings in Romans, he casts out a warning to all of us about thinking that we have it all figured out….

 

Romans 1

22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles…….. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. Amen.

 

Paul is issuing a warning…and it is a warning not only to a specific issue….but to the idea that we all, if we are not careful, can blend in with our culture rather than be salt and light in a dark world.  I have thought about this very principal a lot:

 

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of God for a lie…..

 

How many times have I thought that I knew it all and exchanged a God-given truth for something that simply was not true?

 

Paul was living that lie….As he walked to Damascus he was strongly convicted that he was serving God by getting rid of the Jesus-followers……but the journey did not end the way that it started.  Paul became a converted, radical, Jesus follower……

 

What if we all need that type of conversion and transformation?

 

What if Jesus has a greater plan for us than what we ever thought He could do?

 

What if we have listened, in some area, to the lies of the world….and professed to be wise only to find out we had exchanged the glory of God for a lie?

 

God’s Word is so rich.

 

His impact on our life is so powerful.

 

His saving grace is so unmistakable.

 

What if He got a hold of all of us the way that He did Paul?

 

I would have to think that the world would be radically different!  Please join me in striving to pursue a Savior who loves us too much to leave us the way we are!

 

Lord, come right now.  Come and meet with us and come and transform us.

 

If there are roots of worldly things that have been planted in us that are not true and do not belong….then rid us of those things.  If there are mindsets or spiritual lies or family curses that have disallowed us from seeing the truth….rid us of them right now in the Name of Jesus.  Father….do not allow darkness to sway us from light.  Show us the way and convict us in it through Your Word, through our prayers, and through our Godly friendships.  Let no incorrect or false teaching sway us away from connecting to you in mighty and miraculous ways.

 

You….and You alone….Hold the keys to eternal life.

 

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

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Coach J