<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Acts 9;10-16<div><br></div><div><b>10. &nbsp;Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. &nbsp;The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” &nbsp;And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”</b></div><div><b>11. &nbsp;And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying,</b></div><div><b>12. &nbsp;and has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay hands on him so that he might regain his sight.</b></div><div><b>13. &nbsp;But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem;</b></div><div><b>14. &nbsp;and </b><b>here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon thy name.”</b></div><div><b>15. &nbsp;But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;</b></div><div><b>16. &nbsp;for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><span>Who we were means nothing. &nbsp;It is only&nbsp;who we by his grace&nbsp;are becoming which matters to God.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Saul was a persecutor&nbsp;of the Church, the Body of Christ,&nbsp;the one who organized the stoning to death&nbsp;of Stephen. &nbsp;But, Jesus made himself known to Saul, and in so doing, Saul repented of his past life.</span></div><div><span>Saul was transformed by his vision on the road to Damascus. &nbsp;He was becoming a different man.</span></div><div><span>Jesus had blinded Saul with his glory and truth. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Before, Saul ‘thought’ he could see the will of God. &nbsp;Now, as a blind&nbsp;man, he truly saw the will of God.</span></div><div><span>He thought Jesus was a servant of Satan,&nbsp;now he realized he himself had been&nbsp;serving the devil.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>God is in the business of giving us the wonderful death of Christ to our old-Adam, and giving us brand new lives as born-anew children of God, raised up to newness of life with and in Jesus.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>How ‘dead’ in Christ&nbsp;are we? &nbsp;Have we surrendered everything, or are we holding on to pieces of ourselves which we do not want to surrender to God? &nbsp;What claims, desires, expectations do we bring with us as we try to follow Jesus? &nbsp;Lay it all down, be truly free as you&nbsp;freely chose to be his full-time obedient servant. Truly, ‘deny yourself.’ The new life he has for his children is better by far than anything we think we can ever&nbsp;give ourselves.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>CAUTION: The life the Father has for us in Christ WILL involve suffering. But, such suffering is our sharing in the&nbsp;glory of Jesus.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, grant your love to so fill me, that no suffering will ever turn me from following Jesus. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric</span></div><div><span>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.”</span></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Acts 9;10-16
10.  Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias.  The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”  And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”11.  And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying,12.  and has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay hands on him so that he might regain his sight.13.  But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem;14.  and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon thy name.”15.  But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;16.  for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
Who we were means nothing.  It is only who we by his grace are becoming which matters to God.
Saul was a persecutor of the Church, the Body of Christ, the one who organized the stoning to death of Stephen.  But, Jesus made himself known to Saul, and in so doing, Saul repented of his past life.Saul was transformed by his vision on the road to Damascus.  He was becoming a different man.Jesus had blinded Saul with his glory and truth.  
Before, Saul ‘thought’ he could see the will of God.  Now, as a blind man, he truly saw the will of God.He thought Jesus was a servant of Satan, now he realized he himself had been serving the devil.
God is in the business of giving us the wonderful death of Christ to our old-Adam, and giving us brand new lives as born-anew children of God, raised up to newness of life with and in Jesus.
How ‘dead’ in Christ are we?  Have we surrendered everything, or are we holding on to pieces of ourselves which we do not want to surrender to God?  What claims, desires, expectations do we bring with us as we try to follow Jesus?  Lay it all down, be truly free as you freely chose to be his full-time obedient servant. Truly, ‘deny yourself.’ The new life he has for his children is better by far than anything we think we can ever give ourselves.
CAUTION: The life the Father has for us in Christ WILL involve suffering. But, such suffering is our sharing in the glory of Jesus.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, grant your love to so fill me, that no suffering will ever turn me from following Jesus.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.”

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