Begin with 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.

Well, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band stole the idea of “Blinded by the Light” right out of Acts. Pretty sure they were not talking about the same thing though. You should look up those lyrics one day to see just how wrong you have been singing that song all these years.

We find our good soldier for God, Saul, heading down the road to Damascus as fast as his little feet or donkey can go. He has heard that there has been a revival brewing from the disciples of this guy named Jesus - someone Saul thought was a total fraud who has influenced the weak minds of many. Saul was not satisfied with the normal harassment and persecution of these believers, so he petitioned the high priest to give him a formal commission to go after them. Armed with this, he sets out for Damascus to stifle this little revival and uphold the good name of God. “The mind of a man plans his way: But the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 NASB.

Change of plans. Suddenly Saul finds himself flat on the ground, with light all around him. Now, I am not sure the author of Acts, Luke, did such a great job describing this. I think maybe a little more drama is deserved here. I am confident that Saul was terrified out of his mind, fell or was knocked to the ground, and his knees shook like King Belshazzar in Daniel 5:6. Scripture tells us, “Then the king’s face became pale, and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints loosened, and his knees began knocking together”.  Notice also that this light is all around him. Not just in his face. God loves to illuminate, driving all darkness (sin) out. No shadows here for sin to hide. And then in God-like fashion, Jesus calls him by name; Saul, Saul. Not, “Hey you evil heathen”. Not, “Hey Mr. Worthless”. It just feels like a good father looking at their son who has done something wrong and saying, “Ron, Ron, what are you doing?” And that is exactly what Jesus asks Saul. “Why are you persecuting Me?” Not, why are you persecuting my followers, but why are you persecuting Me? Now Saul, knowing that this voice can only be from heaven, responds appropriately by addressing Him as Lord but he still was a little baffled. “Who is this?” he asks. Not being a follower of Jesus, this sheep failed to recognize the Shepherd’s voice. Jesus wastes no time and refrains from giving a lengthy explanation of prophecies, scriptures, or historical accounts of the last few years. Nope. He simply says, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting BUT get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do”. Don’t you just love that “but” in the middle of that verse? Yes, Saul, this is what you have been doing, BUT no more. This is what you will do now.

And oh, Paul, you’re not going to need that vision for a few days.

Into the story comes a man named Ananias. A good and faithful servant in Damascus. When God called upon him, his answer was, “Here am I Lord”. He knew the sound of his shepherd’s voice. After a little debate with God, except basically making sure God had the right Saul, Ananias was obedient. After following God’s instructions, Ananias laid hands on Saul, filling him with the Holy Spirit and giving sight to his eyes.

It was on then. Saul became the preacher we enjoy reading about through the New Testament. The difference, he preached Christ Jesus. Now, he was equally as fervent to preach that as he had been to squash it. He just needed to be “Blinded by the Light”.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Is there a sin in your life that you could voluntarily relinquish, or are you waiting to be “Blinded by the Light”?
  
• Can you hear your Shepherd’s voice?
• Prayer: Dear Lord, reveal the sin in me that I might be ignoring or unaware is even sin.  I am sorry for sinning against You and others in my life. Help me turn away from the ways of this world and toward Jesus. Amen.

Reclaimed:

Have you experienced the life-changing grace and mercy of the Cross in your life? Do you have questions about following Jesus? If you or someone you know has questions about salvation or baptism, Venture’s Salvation & Baptism Booklet is a written guide to walk you through an understanding of who God is and what He did for us. To learn more or contact someone from our staff about baptism, go to www.venturechurch.org/baptism.