12/12/2020 - THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE TRUTH

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And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Acts 9:5

Jesus’ encounter with Saul forever changed the life of this son of Jacob, who thought he was serving God. Because of what his teachers taught him, he did not accept that Christ was the Son of God. He lost a lot in his blind and fanatical faith, which certainly did not come from the Lord. However, as soon as he saw the divine splendor, he fell to the ground and as he heard the sweet voice, he gave surrendered himself to the One who hated. How many are still acting this way?

Saul was trembling and astonished. If it was God, why didn’t He kill him? That man was completely out of focus. Fanaticism is seen in any religion. When an individual believes in something, he thinks that everyone should follow him in that belief. Even in the evangelical world this happens. Many don´t pay attention to what Jesus said: No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;  (John 6:44, 65). In Christianity, faith is pure!

Because he believed that his mission was to persecute Christ’s disciples, Saul, in his fury, believed that they should go to jail. He was possessed by religious zeal, which was nothing divine. This hatred can be seen in many lives still today. Therefore, our prayer must be that God will open people’s eyes and make them see the Truth. Otherwise, they will be lost forever. We plead for mercy!

Jesus revealed Himself to Saul as the Savior, the One he was persecuting. That Pharisee’s heart was shaken by a spiritual earthquake – the experience was so intense that he went blind and realized his error. This has to happen to everyone. It is the Holy Spirit who convinces of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). Being God’s work, people will leave the old life of sin and embrace the sweet Savior.

There is no people more persecuted by the religious than those who believe in Jesus. In certain places, an individual may call himself god, and no one will persecute him; however, if anyone talks about Christ, the situation will get serious. You can see that the evil one is behind the persecution, for he does not want to lose people to salvation. After all, he will depend on them in the lake of fire and sulfur, where he will dwell for eternity. We have to warn people about that. Help us, Father!

For Saul, prison was the ideal place for whom he considered to be heretic, apostate and evil towards God. He didn’t understand that he was manipulated by Hell, who didn´t care at all about Judaism. Since they did not believe in Jesus, everyone would also go to the eternal lake of fire. Satan hates that humanity learns that Christ died so that everyone would be saved. Our call is the noblest of all times: to declare the Truth that sets us free!

It was Jesus whom Saul was persecuting. Many people have also been used to persecute the children of God. This is because Satan has been able to instill in the hearts of many this hatred against the Truth. However, the hellish gates will not prevail against the Lord’s Church (Matthew 16:18). Our mission is to rapture others!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares