Greetings again my Brethren. Okay so this month we will finish up the diversity of divine communication from God to man. We looked at 30 ways God communicates with man, all very diverse and all very distinct. So, this month we will look at a persecutor. Do you think God will persecute us? Oh no never. God is a loving God who loves us and would never bring what we call bad things into our lives? Right? Well, yes and no! God does love us that must be without question in our heart. If we think God does not love us then we will think all of those “bad things that happen to good people” is God’s judgment and worse God’s punishment. Now does God get our attention? Yes, He does. Not to punish us, but to teach us about His character and ways. Not to see us suffer, but to work in our lives through His dealings and judgements to form Christ in us. Paul writes in Galatians, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,” (Galatians 4:19). This is God’s goal in our lives, not to make us rich, famous, influential, popular, or even attractive, but His goal in our lives is have Christ formed in us. You know we often think God’s goal in our lives is to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ. Well, not so. That is saying God will take our old man of the flesh and change it to where it is acceptable. No, God wants to kill our flesh so that Christ can be formed in us through God’s dealings and judgements in our lives. There is a huge difference between conforming and forming. When we are conformed we are taking something already formed and changing into something else. Like taking apples and somehow turning them into grapes. This cannot ever happen my friend. But, forming is like creating apples. God want to create Christ in us. Because the definition of Christianity is Christ in us and us in Christ. Okay, I better stop here before I start preaching. So, God can use a persecutor to get our attention and communicate with us. In Acts, Luke writes, “And Saul, yet breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me? 5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutes: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.’ (Acts 9:1-6) Here still Saul soon to be Paul is persecuting the disciples who followed “this Way” the early Body of Christ scattered around the area of Jerusalem, Damacus, and surrounding areas. As he headed for Damacus Jesus met him on the road. Not in the way of a cordial meeting, but in a way Saul would be able to see (no pun intended) the power of Christ and feel His darkness. A light shone from heaven and he fell to the ground. And a voice spoke from heaven, “Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me?” Apparently, Saul did not know it was Jesus who was getting his attention until Jesus told him so. And even then, I believe, Saul had a no clue who Jesus was. I believe, it was not until Jesus said, “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” or goads did Saul get an idea he was dealing with Jesus. Now the pricks or goads Jesus was talking about was the things in Saul’s life that moved him in a direction where he could come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We all have pricks and goads. If you think back in your life you can remember situations and things that happened that moved you closer and closer to the LORD. In Saul’s case, I believe every Christian he rounded up and sent to prison or had killed, thinking he was doing the work of God, every scream of persecution, every beating, every murder all moved him closer to the LORD. One special goad or prick that got Saul’s attention was when Stephen, the first martyr was stoned. In Acts we find Saul present for the stoning. Luke writes, “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 55But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 57Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.” (Acts 7:54-58) Make no mistake my friend God will use whoever and whatsoever it takes to get our attention for His purposes. Even a murderer like Saul. Next month we will start a whole new area as we begin to look at the Prophet of God in many different ways of service and even his character and integrity. Is this you my friend? Are you a Prophet of God? To be a Prophet we must be able to hear His voice. Listen closely and you will. Written by David Stahl
Thoughts for Consideration: July 2025
