Zondervan Blog: Bible

The Story of Saul and Ananias: Why Listening to God is a Risk Worth Taking [Excerpt]

Have you ever noticed how when Saul became Paul, God didn't do all the heavy lifting? He asked a Christian named Ananias to help Saul, and Ananias almost didn't do it...

This is an excerpt from Bill Hybel's The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond [eBook]. -Adam Forrest, Zondervan

A risky mission for Ananias

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God spoke to Ananias in a vision, telling him to go to Saul and deliver a message. God even provides the address where Saul is staying [Acts 9:10–12].

"Hey, God," [Ananias] essentially said, "I don't know if you've neglected to keep up with the daily news or what, but Saul's name is all over the headlines. He's a terrorist, and the whole reason he's in town is to destroy the church that I attend. If you think I'm going to actually seek him out, well, then one of us is crazy!" ...

God stood by his one-word reply: "Go." And Ananias went. [Acts 9:13-16]

Earlier that day...

On the road to Damascus as Saul lay there blinded by the light, God had issued him a triad of instructions, as well: "Get up, Saul. Go into the city. And wait." Saul now had a decision to make. What would he do with the direction he'd been given? He's a tough guy—should he just stand up, shake his fist at heaven and say, "Is that your best shot?"

In perhaps the wisest move of Saul's life to that point, he chose the other path. The text says that he rose, he was led into the city by his band of brothers (who were probably shocked to be leading their once-fearless, now-helpless leader), and he waited for whatever would happen next [Acts 9:1-9].

Listening to God: A risk worth taking

I have read [Acts 9:17–19] many times, and with each reading I find myself trembling just a bit...

[Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength."]

Bill Hybels

Think about it: a highly intelligent (though completely misdirected) man—who will someday become a powerful force in the hand of Almighty God—is lying blind on a bed with no clue what he is to do next—other than to wait. If someone could only deliver a small dose of knowledge—a divine insight to him—the blind man not only will regain his sight but will eventually change the whole world for good.

Ananias delivers that small dose of knowledge, and Saul goes on to write two-thirds of the New Testament; he plants churches that will have lasting impact; he leaves a legacy, not of bitterness and rage, but of boldness and righteousness and faith. Lost people are saved, believers are encouraged, churches are strengthened and entire communities experience times of great peace, all because two men hear God's whispers and have the guts to respond.

I imagine God cheering from heaven's balcony as he watched Ananias enter the home where Saul lay anxiously awaiting the arrival of a man he'd never met.

'You were so ecstatic about your license to kill,' I picture God saying to Saul, 'but I can do you one better than that...'

"You were so ecstatic about your license to kill," I picture God saying to Saul, "but I can do you one better than that! You're about to be granted a license to help millions of people throughout history live. You now have full access to grace. Full access to love. Full access to power. Full access to fulfillment. Stay close to me, Saul, and you will want for nothing. I will care for you. I will protect you. I will provide for you. And while we're at it, I'll even give you a new name. Paul—that's who you are now ... Paul, my brand-new creation...

I am convinced that one of the major reasons a one-time terrorist [Saul] wound up becoming one of the most impactful Christian leaders in history is because he chose the path of obedience. On day one, when Jesus asked him to do three little things, he did them. And that step of initial obedience began a pattern of submission to the will and ways of God. Despite the eventual respect among believers that Saul—now Paul—would come to enjoy, the apostle Paul never got too seasoned, sophisticated or smart to do anything less than that which Jesus whispered for him to do. How I wish the same always could be said of me!

- Bill Hybels (@billhybels)

A theme from this story leaped out at me: Small obedience can make a big difference. It doesn't always feel like that, does it? But in the case of Ananias, doing something that frightened him had world-changing results. And for Paul, those small acts of obedience marked a new kind of life, characterized by obedience and "full access" to grace / love / power / fulfillment. -AF

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Learn more about Bill Hybels's The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond (eBook).

The Struggles, Failures, and Hope of Adam

It is almost impossible to imagine what Adam's life was like in Eden. He was first and one-of-a-kind: no childhood, no parents, no schooling, no guilt, close contact with God, perfect world, a beautiful garden, knowing animals by name, a spouse created to be an ideal partner, only one rule to follow. Life today is vastly different.

Yet we can identify with Adam's struggles:

He's embarrassed to admit mistakes and wants to avoid confronting his problems.
His kids get into big trouble, spoiling many of his dreams for their future.
He works harder and gets less done as life goes on.
As an older adult, he has little to show for all his labors except a small farm and scattered grandchildren.

Yet even Adam had hope. Genesis 3:15 is God's first piece of Good News: Satan will be defeated; a Savior will come. That promise gave Adam hope, and still lifts us from the pits to the heavens, from "What's the use?" to "Praise the Lord!" When life seems barren and pointless, remember that even Adam, who had fallen the furthest, had this hope. [See Romans 5:14-17]

Jesus has come, salvation is won and the Bible promises another (second) coming at the end of time when all of our tears will be wiped away. Whenever you're discouraged, remember the Good News. [See 1 Cor. 15:22, 45]

Prayer

Lord, I need encouragement today because...

Adam after the Fall. Sculpture by Rodin.

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Learn more about Once-A-Day Men and Women of the Bible Devotional.
Discover more Once-a-Day Devotionals.

Postscript: Do you feel like a carriage wheel or train wheel?

The Once-A-Day Devotional message above prompted some questions for me, and I'd like to share them with you.

Do you feel like God is just one part of your life, like a spoke on this wagon wheel?

If we invite God into every area of our life, and make it our mission to reflect His glory, our life will be more like this train wheel:

A life that praises God wholly is solid. Unified.

I used to be afraid that making my life about His glory would make the me in me fade and disappear. But this has not been my experience. I believe we become whole people when we worship God wholly. (See Isaiah 60:2-3, Romans 12:6-8)

I'll see you on the train, compañeros.

-Adam Forrest, Zondervan

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Learn more about Once-A-Day Devotional for Men.

You, me and the Knights Templar

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I was reading about a strange baptism practice that was allowed by the church when the Knights of Templar would be baptized. When the church would baptize one of the knights, they would be baptized with their sword, but they wouldn't take their swords under water with them. Instead they would hold their swords up out of the water while the rest of them would be immersed. It was the knights' way of saying to Jesus, "You can have control of me but you can't have this. Jesus, I'm all yours, but who I am and what I do on the battlefield, how I use this sword, that's not part of the deal" ...

If that was still the practice today, we might not hold up a sword, but my guess is that many would hold up a wallet. Some would hold up a remote control. Others would hold up a laptop.

Many fans say to Jesus, 'Anything and everything I have, I give to you.' But Jesus points to what you're hiding behind your back and says, 'What about that?'

Many fans say to Jesus, "I will follow. Anything and everything I have, I give to you." But Jesus points to what you're hiding behind your back and says, "What about that?" For Nicodemus it was a religious reputation. For the Rich Young Ruler it was his stuff. For this man it seems to be his family relationships that held him back. They are willing to follow Jesus, but the relationship isn't exclusive. They're holding on to some things from the past.

Jesus doesn't want followers who have a divided affection or a split allegiance. And so Jesus points to what you most value and are most concerned about, and says, "What about that?"

For Pam, Jesus was asking, "What about food?" For years she turned to food rather than Jesus as her source of comfort and satisfaction. She finally realized she couldn't call herself a follower of Jesus if she was unwilling to surrender this area of her life to him.

Steve said, "I want to follow Jesus with everything." And Jesus asked, "What about your entertainment choices?" Steve wanted to be a follower of Jesus, but for a long time he kept looking back to television shows and internet sites that filled him with lust. He wanted to follow Jesus, but not with both hands on the plow; he kept looking back.

Jesus says to Stephanie, "What about your friends?" Stephanie called herself a follower of Jesus, but her life didn't revolve around Jesus. Her life revolved around her friends. Her friends were where she found her greatest joy. Her friends determined whether it was a good day or a bad day.

To Doug, Jesus asks, "What about your money?" Over the years Doug had found his identify and self-worth not in being a follower of Jesus, but in money and the things money could buy. With a downturn in the economy Doug has begun to realize that though he said he would follow Jesus, he has spent most of his time and given most of his attention to looking back...

Why does Jesus want followers to surrender everything?

Please understand: Jesus loves you so much. He died to have a relationship with you. He will not share your heart with anyone. He will settle for nothing less than your complete devotion and heartfelt affection. He made no compromises when he came and gave his life up for you, and he takes no compromises now as he asks you to do the same.

The reason Jesus is so adamant about followers surrendering everything is because the reality is this: the one thing we are most reluctant to give up is the one thing that has the most potential to become a substitute for him. Really what we're talking about here is idolatry. When we are to be following Jesus, who is ahead of us, but find ourselves looking behind us, we are revealing that we are substituting something or someone for him.

When we finally surrender that one thing, we discover the satisfaction that comes from following Jesus that was always missing when we were holding something back.

- Kyle Idleman (@kyleidleman)

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Learn more about the new Not a Fan (Teen Edition): What Does It Mean to Really Follow Jesus? [eBook]. (You may already be familiar with Kyle Idleman's original book Not a Fan.)

Great Good + Grave Danger

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Why is sex fun? Why is eating fun? Why are there colors? ...

Where did pleasure come from? That seems to me a huge question — the philosophical equivalent, for atheists, to the problem of pain for Christians. Don't atheists and secular humanists have an equal obligation to explain the origin of pleasure in a world of randomness and meaninglessness? ...

Pleasure is at once a great good and a grave danger. If we start chasing pleasure as an end in itself, along the way we may lose sight of the One who gave us such good gifts as sexual drive, taste buds, and the capacity to appreciate beauty. As Ecclesiastes tells it, a wholesale devotion to pleasure will, paradoxically, lead to a state of utter despair.

The Christian's Choice

We can set about enjoying pleasure to the fullest, which means enjoying it in the way the Creator intended.

Somehow Christians have gotten a reputation as anti-pleasure, and this despite the fact that they believe pleasure was an invention of the Creator himself. We Christians have a choice. We can present ourselves as uptight bores who sacrificially forfeit half the fun of life by limiting our indulgence in sex, food, and other sensual pleasures. Or we can set about enjoying pleasure to the fullest, which means enjoying it in the way the Creator intended.

Not everyone will accept the Christian philosophy of pleasure as a gift best enjoyed within the bounds of the Creator's intent. Some skeptics will scoff at any insistence on moderation. For these skeptics, I have a few simple questions. Why is eating fun? Why are there colors? I'm still waiting for a good explanation that does not include the word God.

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-Philip Yancey

Q: Think of your favorite pastime. How do you know when you're enjoying that pleasure within bounds of God's intent?

In other words, whose opinions do you listen to? You may find this helpful: Rank these authorities from 1 to 4 (1 = most authoritative, 4 = least authoritative).
___ I listen to my conscience
___ I look to the most commonly accepted opinion
___ I look to the opinions of certain people I trust
___ I look to what the Bible says

Learn more about the eBook Grace Notes: Daily Readings with Philip Yancey
Visit Philip Yancey's blog

The Kindness of the Father [by S. J. Hill]

If we recognize that God's heart is filled with passion for us even in our weakness, we will be catapulted into personal wholeness and spiritual maturity.

When my two sons left home and ventured out on their own, I realized even more how much I loved them. I would think about them all the time. I would call them on the phone just to hear their voices. I would picture in my mind what they looked like. More than once I heard the Lord speak so gently to me, "If you feel this way about your sons, how do you think I feel about you?"

I was often reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:9–11: "[Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!]"

Today as I was thinking about my sons and reflecting on those experiences, I was so overcome by the love of the Father that I broke down and wept. I realized again that when we, as His children, catch a glimpse of the beauty of His heart, it will ignite such deep passions within us that we will gladly abandon ourselves to Him.

A Living Expression [by Mother Teresa, AD 1910 – 1997]

Be the living expression of God's kindness:
   kindness in your face,
   kindness in your eyes,
   kindness in your smile,
   kindness in your warm greeting.

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Learn more about the NIV Voices of Faith Devotional Bible

A Friendly Dare: Ask someone you trust, "What expressions do you often see from me?" Is your kindness visible? Or is something else in your heart spilling out, such as fear, anxiety, or impatience?

A trip to the ancient marketplace

Mark Buchanan

Ancient markets were dirty places. You stood cheek by jowl with a ragtag bunch of sneezing, sputtering, coughing humanity. Mobs with filthy hands, open sores, nasty contagions, jostled shoulder to shoulder. All handled the same merchandise. Ten people groped nectarines, dried figs, pistachio nuts, and the eleventh person bought and ate them. Twenty people, some whose bodies had not seen water in a fortnight, tried on sandals before one man finally purchased and wore them.

Tablefuls of crockery and basketry and jewelery, of fresh vegetables and dried peppers and ham hocks and bread loaves, of leather aprons and cotton jerkins, all were caressed by a hundred fingers that also grubbed gardens and swabbed counters and dabbled in places unmentionable.

Everyone steeped in the broth of everyone else's breathing and sweating

At the market, small pieces of the debris of each and all were swapped about freely. Humanity's earthiness was bartered along with its wares. Everyone steeped in the broth of everyone else's breathing and sweating. Everyone took home a little souvenir from everyone else's personal collection, a memento or three from the man who slopped pigs, the woman who cleaned latrines, the boy who caught rats...

How to stay clean in the market

The Pharisees were careful, well-bred people. They took many necessary and wise precautions whenever any one of them was reduced to a visit to the market. Picking up some bug — the sniffles, a lingering cough — was the least of their worries... Their codebook for cleanliness, Leviticus primarily ... dealt with a different kind of uncleanness: moral, religious, spiritual. An open sore wasn't just infectious; it was a token of sin and a threat to intimacy with both God and others. Certain kinds of food were not just writhing with parasites or teeming with cholesterol... they were despised things that put those who ate them at risk of sullying themselves and alienating God...

Jesus' disciples ... are men without scruples.

The Pharisees and lawyers are not offended ... because of the disciples' glaring lack of hygienic discipline; they're offended because of their conspicuous lack — indeed, their out-and-out defiance — of well-established and widely agreed-upon moral standards. [For example, see Mark 7:1-5.] Jesus' disciples are scofflaws. They flout tradition with recklessness. They trespass clearly marked boundaries and vandalize the no-trespassing signs on their way across. They are men without scruples. They are men devoid of good sense, good breeding, good manners. They are men who, if their rabbi can't restrain them, then sterner measures should be employed.

All's to say, this scene that Mark records should in no way surprise us. To give his non-Jewish readers a little orientation ... Mark inserts parenthetically a comment about Jewish protocol for visits to the market. This is not just for Pharisees; it's for "all the Jews." These scruples — flagrantly thrown off by Bartholomew and the two Jameses and Peter and Judas, that whole sorry mob — are to be the badge of the law-abiding.

[Jewish readers of Mark's story would] be on the side of the Pharisees against Jesus and his unruly disciples. That would raise the alarm.

The sick invade the market

Even more, what would alarm [Jewish readers] — or, more likely, send them into paroxysms of moral shock — is the scene where "[People] ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went — into villages, towns or countryside — they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed" [Mark 6:53-56].

Look what gets hauled into the marketplace, and look who goes touching it. This portrait of people openly, deliberately placing the sick in the marketplaces reinforces every scruple a good Jew has about such places: avoid them, and when you can't, take a good, hot, long shower as soon as you get home. For someone to openly, deliberately bring sick people into such places, and for anyone to openly, deliberately touch them ... is, well, scandalous.

In Jesus ... holiness is no longer a hothouse flower that wilts on contact. It is a cedar of Lebanon.

Mark no doubt juxtaposes these two scenes from the marketplace to set up a stark and sharp contrast, and to underline how radically Jesus changes the rules. In Jesus ... holiness is no longer a hothouse flower that wilts on contact. It is a cedar of Lebanon, the balm of Gilead, and even the edge of his cloak spills with healing. His holiness is not a delicacy to be primly guarded; it is an invading force that overwhelms resistance. It is a force to be reckoned with, not some keepsake to be safely stowed away.

How the market is like the church

What I want to emphasize here is that this is a template for the church. The market is a classic in-between place, where cultures and classes come together. Markets intersect the rich and poor, the old and young, the good and bad, the beautiful and sordid. It's everyone's world in general, and no one's in particular.

The way the traditionally religious inhabit such places is that they don't; they make forays into them, guarded, priggish, stealthy, squeamish, fleeting. In and out. They rush in, holding their noses, closing their eyes. They get what they need. They rush out, and try to scour any residue of the place from skin and heart and mind.

[Jesus] is unstoppable with redemption. He is a holy terror.

The way Jesus inhabits such places is subversively, massively, invasively. He comes with healing in his wings [Mark 6:53-56]. He moves toward those who move toward him, the kingdom of God on a collision course with a world half pleading, half defying. His arms are spread wide, to make more of himself, to gather more into himself, to pour more out of himself. He is large with compassion. He is unstoppable with redemption. He is a holy terror.

When the kingdom within him collides with the world as it is, the kingdom will break that broken world, break and break it until it makes it anew. The lame will walk, the blind will see, the mute will speak, the deaf will hear. The foolish will become wise, the cowardly brave, the stingy generous. Angry people will first taste peace, in their bones, and then start making peace, from their hearts. Bitter people will forgive. The joyless will become joyful.

This is, I said, a good template for the church.

- Mark Buchanan

Q: Does your church resemble an ancient marketplace? Why or why not?

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Learn more about Your Church Is Too Safe: Why Following Christ Turns the World Upside-Down.

Is Christ delightful? [by John Flavel, AD 1630–1691]

John Flavel

Show the world Christ — as he really is — through your actions and your words.

Is he completely delightful? Let all the world see and know that he is so — by the way you delight in him, in the intimacy of your relationship with him, through your passion for him, and through your readiness to part with anything else you might enjoy besides him. Proclaim his superiority to the world... Persuade them how much your beloved is better than any other beloved. Reveal his glorious perfection as you speak of him.

Proclaim him to others as he is in himself: perfectly beautiful. See that you "live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way" (Colossians 1:10). "Declare the praises" of Christ (1 Peter 2:9)... He is glorious in himself, and he is sure to place his glory upon you. So be careful not to bring shame and dishonor to him. He has committed his honor to you; do not betray that trust.

Never be ashamed to be counted as a Christian.

Becoming a Contagious Christian [by Bill Hybels]

Bill Hybels

Deep in every true Christian, there is an awareness that we are on this planet for purposes greater than having a career, paying the bills, loving our families and fulfilling our role as upstanding citizens. Even going to church and worshiping God — important as these are — sometimes leave us feeling that something is missing. After all, we'll worship God for eternity in heaven; we don't have to be here to do that.

What is it that's absent in the lives of so many believers who are crying out for fulfillment? What on earth is God asking us to do?

God wants us to become contagious Christians — his agents, who will first catch his love and then urgently and infectiously offer it to all who are willing to consider it. This is his primary plan, the one Jesus modeled so powerfully, to spread God's grace and truth person to person until there's an epidemic of changed lives around the world.

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Learn more about the NIV Voices of Faith Devotional Bible

Q: The only way that the people you live and work and play with may see Christ is through you. So what's one thing people see when they look at you?

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Bible

June 13, 2012

A risky mission for Ananias

Earlier that day...

Listening to God: A risk worth taking

Suggested Posts

June 12, 2012

The Struggles, Failures, and Hope of Adam

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June 11, 2012

Suggested Posts

June 07, 2012

Postscript: Do you feel like a carriage wheel or train wheel?

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June 05, 2012

You, me and the Knights Templar

Why does Jesus want followers to surrender everything?

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June 04, 2012

Great Good + Grave Danger

The Christian's Choice

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May 30, 2012

The Kindness of the Father [by S. J. Hill]

A Living Expression [by Mother Teresa, AD 1910 – 1997]

Further Reading

May 29, 2012

Suggested Posts

May 23, 2012

A trip to the ancient marketplace

How to stay clean in the market

The sick invade the market

How the market is like the church

Suggested Posts

May 22, 2012

Is Christ delightful? [by John Flavel, AD 1630–1691]

Becoming a Contagious Christian [by Bill Hybels]

Further Reading