Acts 9 – 10
Verse 9:3 starts the conversions of Saul/Paul:
Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
Saul is blinded on his way to persecute Christians and is converted. I know all of us would love something that clear to show us the right way, but we have to learn through faith. Interesting how science expects us to believe in energy without seeing it, yet ridicule us for believing in an unseen God. When we provide evidence they shoot it down. Maybe that’s what we need today, Richard Dawkins to be blinded on the road to a speech about his beliefs! This would be a miraculous event that I suspect would be “poo-poo’ed y science anyway.
Verse 9:26 is the natural result of someone like this converting:
And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.
Honestly wouldn’t you be suspect that he was trying to infiltrate the group so he could identify more Christians to persecute? As you know I would be one of the first to question, but also one of the easiest to convince. I tend to release my preconceived dogmas easier than most, since I will continue to question until I find the truth. I believe this is why many Christians grow “stagnant” in their growth, since they just accept what is being fed them.
I questioned the “trinity” for decades since I would not accept this since the Word of God said more that Jesus was the Son of God and therefore different. Eventually I resolved this and now believe it completely and could explain it through quantum mechanics and energy. I know it would have been easier to just accept this as truth, but I needed to know and found out the truth. Funny thing is the more I question to more I find the majority of the Bible to be true, even the first chapter!
Verses 10:12 – 13 is a story I debate a bunch:
12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
Interestingly this happens three times and Peter refuses each time. Now this is trying to directly get Peter to sin against the Law by eating unclean things. What God was trying to illustrate to Peter is not that a slab of bacon is ok to eat, but rather that things have changed in relationship to the Law. This was less trying to get Peter to eat pork, but rather to realize it was ok to believe in God and not follow the Law to the letter. This is where I get into conflict with how we are to obey the Law. Reason being is often we have preachers saying to obey the tithe and then serve pork barbecue at the church social. This shows the problem with the Law and following it too the letter, it becomes a legalistic document that no one can follow and many hunt and choose what they want to follow. I look at the Law different, sure there are many sins that are NOT to be done, but even still many have a death penalty associated to them which we have relaxed. Where I stray for many is this is not a pick and choose thing, we are asked to follow what has not already been fulfilled by Jesus. At the same time it’s not a sin to not tithe and it’s not a sin to eat pork.
What not doing those do is not have you living life to the full. You need to learn to budget to tithe and manage money properly. If you master this you can live more freely to follow God. If you eat God’s foods you will be healthier and be able to serve God to your full potential. That is where the Law should be considered, not as rules but rather guides.