WORD From The Woods Acts 9:1-20 “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 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.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” The conversion of Saul is one of the most familiar stories in the bible, but as with many familiar passages, we tend to miss what God still has to teach us through them. Saul was one of the most zealous Pharisees in Israel and he had made it his mission in life to round up the rebels who were following the Nazarene, Jesus, the fraudulent messiah (or so he thought at the time). Saul was so caught up in his religiosity and trying to work his way into God's favor, that he'd been horribly misled by the devil to the point where he was arresting and executing followers of this Jesus. Saul oversaw the execution of great disciples of Jesus such as Steven. Saul had heard of a large uprising of Jesus' followers in the city of Damascus, 140 miles away from Jerusalem. So, he got letters of authority from the Jewish leaders to go to Damascus and bind all the Christians he found and haul them back to prison. We might look at Saul's life before his encounter with the Lord and think there was no way he could be used by God, but God had other plans. The passion and zeal that Saul had in trying to root out Christianity were actually spiritual gifts that God had created in him for a special purpose, he had just been using them in a very wrong way, being led by the enemy. When Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery he thought his life was over, but in Genesis 50:20 he says this: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Romans 8:28, written by Saul, who became known as Paul after his conversion says: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Nobody understood this concept more than Paul, that God could take such an evil person and use their life before Christ to shape them into the servant that He wants them to be. I hear people all the time say that they have done things in their past that make them unable to serve God or somehow disqualify them for service. Paul and many other examples in the bible have shown us that's just not true! Our Lord, the sovereign God, creator of the universe, and lover of our soul, can and will use our whole story, past present, and future for His glory if we love and trust in Him. God will completely forgive all the wrongs that we will ever do if we simply put our faith and trust in Jesus as Saul did. God had a clear plan for Saul, it's amazing to see in just a few days, how God took a great enemy of Jesus' followers and brought him to Ananias, a man who he would have arrested or killed three days before. Saul was discipled by Ananias and the other Christians in Damascus, and before long he was in the synagogues proclaiming the gospel of Jesus! I don't know if you were like Saul and had to be knocked down by some life-changing event, or if you were more like Ananias, who was ready and willing to listen to the voice of God. Whatever your story is, God can and will use it to shape you into the person He wants you to be, and He desires to use you as His chosen instrument, wherever you are in life. God bless, and have a great week! -Terry
Blast from the past! This is almost identical to my first bike, which my grandma bought as a Christmas present. Mine was bright yellow, even the seat. Unfortunately it was stolen a couple years later. My next bike was a beater and I started mowing lawns so I could build a BMX bike piece by piece. Thanks for sharing!
Once upon a time there was a Schwinn bicycle store here. Sold only Schwinn bikes . The store is still in business but sells Giant and more. Bicycle riding seems to be a little out of favor around here. My street has bicycle lanes and there used to be several rallies a month on the weekends. Lately, nothing. Several small bike shops closed up, too.
I know bike shops had a huge boom during CV19, since then things have kinda been tough...I think the E-bikes are kinda taking over too...
Hot Hot and Hotter today. Temps got up to 98F and the heat index of 105F! This is early for that kind of weather in this area. It was a little cooler along the ocean's edge, but the ozone was worse. With my issues, I stayed inside and haven't attempted to breathe outside air. Cindy took the dog out but he wanted right back inside. All our food was cool so no stove use to heat the place. The mini split is doing a fantastic job of controlling the air temp and quality in our 1000 sq ft.
I sold our red stingray a few years ago that we had growing up to someone in California. It's crazy what some will pay for an old bicycle
Been off a few days at the workhouse. But on those days at helping a brother out on a job. No work away from home today though. I was able to take a break off and on today between mowing and this heat. Yikes. Been busy working some overtime at work, helping my son sell his truck, and then buy a newer one. Mowing grass and trimming weeds. I lent him my Suburban until he got his newer one. He was grateful. Had to start his internship. He is pumped with his new truck. Went from a 2000 Dodge Ram Sport to a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado LT. We went week with one vehicle. (Wife’s) Got the Suburban back and two days later our youngest daughter gets rear ended in my Wife’s CRV while I’m away helping my brother out. UGH! Some young man not paying attention. Well, probably paying attention, to his phone! She is alright. Scared and upset her. But she is out of it pretty much unscathed. CRV will most likely be totaled tomorrow by his insurance company. Now we have to go through finding my wife a vehicle. And I can’t stand going to car dealerships. Rental picked up today. Oh well. As long as she is okay. The car can be replaced. You hoarders sleep well tonight, knowing you don’t have to stoke the fire for a while.
Glad to hear your daughter is OK Gasifier. Hope this is a wake up call for the young man that hit her.
Apparently the second accident he has been in since he started driving. 18 months ago. He is all of 18. They said his father went to the seen and was not happy. Everyone knew it was his fault. Everyone, including him, had plenty of time to stop and he just ran right into the back of her.
Fortunately a woman who watched the whole thing happen went over to assist my daughter until ambulance got there and told the troopers that he had all kinds of time and just never stopped. Like Erik B said. Hopefully he learns a lesson this time. They said he was very upset, telling my daughter how sorry he was. And he and his girlfriend were bruised and scraped up from it. Fortunately they weren’t hurt seriously either.
Glad to hear everyone is ok. Was your DMV allowing parents to sign off on hours to get their license? AKA , no actual final road test to pass? They did that here, finally just ended it actually. It was a COVID social distancing thing they allowed. The drivers that got their licenses here in Wisconsin during this time are easily the worst drivers that I've ever seen. I know a couple of drivers that got their licenses during this time that had several accidents within 6 months. I'm surprised that their parents haven't pulled their driving privileges. I know that these particular parents are not swimming in cash.
