More and More Power

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

MORE AND MORE POWER

Acts 9:19-25

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.   23 After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

NIV

There is no question that Saul had an experience with Jesus, as he was a changed man. Instead of persecuting the people of the way, he became a man of the way, a believer in Jesus, as the Son of God, the Messiah, the  Christ, and he could not keep silent about his revelation. He became more and more powerful and baffled, or confounded, perplexed the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. Saul is an example to all of us of how we should live with more and more power as we perplex people, telling them and proving to them that Jesus is the Christ. Is that not the call on all of us believers? Are we not supposed to share our faith, tell our story, how we came to know Jesus is alive, that he is the Son of God, and through him we are saved from the penalty of our sins, death? We wonder whether we spend too much time focused on rules and regulations or our traditions, rather than becoming more and more powerful in our testimony about Jesus. Some might become so focused on the church itself, the building, the sanctuary, holding it to our traditional thinking of what it should be, rather than being engaged in proving Jesus is the Christ, sharing with those who do not know Jesus, even confounding them because we have more and more power. Sadly, the Jews in Damascus hated the truth about Jesus so much that they wanted to kill his messenger. Tradition had gripped them, closing their hearts and minds. We can never allow traditional thinking to block our hearts from the truth. We cannot become so invested in the rules and regulations that we cannot experience the power of God within us and the freedom to express more and more of the Spirit's power as we tell our story. We can quench the Spirit with our traditional thinking, but when we release the Spirit's power, we will live with more and more power.