{"id":6005,"date":"2022-06-13T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=6005"},"modified":"2022-05-13T09:07:46","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T14:07:46","slug":"persecuting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2022\/06\/13\/persecuting\/","title":{"rendered":"PERSECUTING"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2 minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Daily Reading:<\/strong> 1 Kings 11:1-12:19 ESV<\/a>, Acts 9:1-25 ESV<\/a>, Psalm 131:1-3 ESV<\/a>, Proverbs 17:4-5 ESV<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daily Verse:<\/strong> \u201cAnd falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, \u201cSaul, Saul, why are you persecuting<\/em> me?\u201d (Acts 9:4 ESV<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DIOKO (1377): <\/strong>\u201cTo drive away, to persecute, suffer persecution.\u201d[i]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suffer Persecution.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saul, who eventually became Paul, met Jesus on the road to Damascus.  On Saul\u2019s way to Jerusalem, he planned on rounding up Christians, taking them to the city for persecution.  But then a light from heaven shone, bringing Saul to his knees, blinding him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the encounter, the men with Saul led him to Damascus. Saul remained blind, not eating or drinking for three days.  God sent Ananias to Saul, explaining Jesus\u2019 appearance to him.  Immediately, the scales fell from Saul\u2019s eyes, filled with the Holy Spirit; he experienced baptism, then ate, strengthened for his new mission, proclaiming Jesus to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chosen Instrument.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When God sent Ananias to Saul, he didn\u2019t want to go.  Saul killed and persecuted many Christ-followers, yet now God wants to use him to spread the Gospel.  I can understand Ananias hesitancy.  But God knows best:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo, for\u00a0he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name\u00a0before the Gentiles and\u00a0kings and the children of Israel.\u00a0For\u00a0I will show him how much\u00a0he must suffer\u00a0for the sake of my name.\u201d (Acts 9:15-16 ESV)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saul caused much suffering for the early followers of Jesus.  And once he met Christ, Saul suffered much for Him: beatings, shipwrecks, snake bites, stoning, all for Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t understand the level of suffering Saul endured because we haven\u2019t experienced it. During those three days of blindness, Saul did some soul searching, rethinking his entire worldview.  From Pharisee of Pharisees, he became Jesus\u2019 most prominent advocate, giving his life for the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Jesus makes us His chosen instrument to impact the world we live in today.  Wherever you live, God planted you there for a reason.  Loving the people God gives you fulfills His mission for your life.  Sharing Christ with everyone, through word and deed, will grow God\u2019s kingdom.  God multiplies our efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lay your past at the foot of the cross.  Allow Jesus\u2019 Spirit to take the lead in your life.  If Saul could become Paul, what God can do with you has no limits.  Trust the Creator; let Him create a new life in you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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[i]<\/a> Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible<\/em>. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament<\/em> (p. 71) Thomas Nelson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check out my new release on Amazon<\/a>. Learn how I used prayer to control my emotions and develop healthier relationships in my life. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2 minute read. Daily Reading: 1 Kings 11:1-12:19 ESV, Acts 9:1-25 ESV, Psalm 131:1-3 ESV, Proverbs 17:4-5 ESV Daily Verse: \u201cAnd falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, \u201cSaul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?\u201d (Acts 9:4 ESV) DIOKO (1377): \u201cTo drive away, to persecute, suffer persecution.\u201d[i] Suffer Persecution. Saul, who eventually became Paul,… Continue reading PERSECUTING<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6005"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6008,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6005\/revisions\/6008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}