Acts of the apostle Paul

This is Paul’s account of his first encounter with the risen Jesus.

“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen — that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
Acts 26:12-23 – NIV

Not all of us will encounter Jesus in this dramatic of a way. Knocked to the ground and blinded by a light and hearing an audible voice of Jesus himself.

I was in the kitchen of a small cafe, next to the dishwasher when the Gospel broke through and I heard and understood grace.

Readers, for the last year my life has been capsized, no not flipped over, capsized is too big, I’ve been hit and wounded, like a battle ship with a gaping hole in its side, and I have been limping towards port, yet still not released from battle duties. Maybe everyone is in this condition to varying degrees. I am listing, tilting toward the right and very slow and everything and every function has been adjusted to accommodate my wounded condition. Like when a finger gets burned, the body adjusts and uses other appendages to get things done. I haven’t been writing as much and posting new material even less because what I’ve written either feels false or insignificant.

I watched a western once where the good guys had a secret weapon, the Gatling gun. It was an early form of machine gun that could fire multiple rounds of ammunition very quickly. Sadly even this new weapon couldn’t overcome the overwhelming force and numbers of the enemy, but even in death the man firing the gun held the trigger so the gun continued to fire. But it was useless because he was not able to aim at the oncoming enemy. I may be like that man behind the gun. I am grieving loss, and wounded deeply and I’m slumped over my weapon firing randomly. No longer able to aim.

I don’t know that my writing is really a weapon though, I hope it’s a clarion call to the lost and alone, to the others wounded and seeking restoration, the hurt and hurting to come to Jesus for help. Using the weapon analogy may be exposing something I don’t want to be true, that I am fighting against sin and not doing what I should be doing, loving the lost.

Whatever the case I took a shot to the midsection and know I can’t seem to regain my balance.

I’m sorry that so much of what I have posted in the last year are just reposts. It’s all been biblical and accurate to the best of my ability but Hasn’t been fresh, like the the manna in the wilderness, the word is best if it’s fresh. I may have to take a break posting just to breath and heal. My faith in Jesus Christ has not wavered but life is much harder right now and I feel like I have nothing new to say or helpful to add.

So I will continue as I have been for a while, waiting to hear from God about next steps. Thank you readers for reading my blogs. Your comments and likes and shares have encouraged me.

May God bless you and lead you and guide you into fruitfulness. May you be a source of refreshment and healing as God leads you to share the good news of salvation in Jesus. If you don’t know Jesus yet, may his Holy Spirit lead you into the Truth of his life, death, resurrection,ascension and his return, all done to act on his profound love for you and for me.

Again thank you and bless you.