The Damascus Road Encounter

To have an encounter with, to meet, the omnipotent God instead of merely aligning ourselves with impotent religious traditions and laws is our greatest need today as it was thousands of years ago.  Nothing short of this will change us.  We cannot save ourselves any more than we can give breath to life.

But first we need to be convinced God is real. And not only to be convinced, but to encounter Him personally while on this wonderful, arduous, and often confusing, journey of our lives none of us asked to be on. Even if we are on a determined course in complete opposition to the claims of Jesus Christ.

Like Saul on the road to Damascus.  

The Apostle Paul (whose given name was Saul) wrote a major portion of the New Testament, writings which shaped Christian doctrine.  His brilliant letters shed light on many aspects of faith in Jesus Christ and practical living.  So it may be hard to believe that this man once violently opposed Christianity, entering homes and dragging believers off to prison, casting his vote in hearty agreement to send them to death.

Saul was raised a devout Jew in Palestine, becoming a Pharisee, a scholar and expert on Jewish law.  He thought the claims of Christianity were blasphemous.  How could Jesus claim to be the Son of God?  His life mission was to put a stop to such an insult to the pure faith he cherished.  He was greatly feared by Christians in the region.  When he set off on the road to Damascus, he was determined to imprison anyone in Damascus who believed in Jesus.

Then Saul had an unexpected encounter.  On the road, he met the risen Jesus.  The encounter is described in the Bible:  “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.  ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ ”

The change was dramatic and lasting.  He was blind for a period of days, then began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God and God’s forgiveness boldly in the synagogues. This was a man on fire.  And he had to have known the ramifications since he himself had persecuted followers of Jesus.  He knew he could be killed.  So after being whisked away to safety, he went on to preach the Gospel in city after city. His new name, Paul, means “asked of God” as he had been chosen to reach those outside of the Jewish faith.    

In case we doubt his encounter, consider what he went through for the sake of his faith: He was beaten and imprisoned numerous times, often to the point of death. He was whipped and stoned. He was shipwrecked three times, spending a night and day in the middle of the sea. He was in danger from robbers, spies, wild animals, and enemies who wanted to kill him. He endured starvation, extreme cold, and exposure.  And he suffered these great hardships with joy!

The term "Damascus Road conversion" is now commonly used to refer to an abrupt about-face on a serious issue of religion, philosophy or perhaps politics. But Paul was incapable of accomplishing this about-face, or repentance, without God revealing Himself to him.  While not all encounters with Jesus Christ are so dramatic, His invitation to know Him is given to all.  It may happen during the course of a conversation, reading the Bible, or a moment of desperate prayer.

Jesus is inviting you to encounter Him on the Damascus road today. 

As Paul said: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”  (Romans 1:16)

The World in 2012: 12 Ways to Make a Difference

As we peer into 2012, ringing in the new year, the world is in a state of economic uncertainty and political upheaval.  Hardships persist.  After ringing in the new millenium in Ukraine, a young woman said she was hoping to wake up the next day and find that she and her circumstances were somehow different as if a mystical transformation would take place.  But she was the same.  The same problems stared back at her when she looked in the mirror and she was disappointed.  The transformation we need takes place in our perspectives and in whom we place our trust.  God seeks to embrace us, lift us out of our pain, frustration and deep fatigue and restore our souls.  He encourages us to take hold of faith, clinging to Him who holds our dreams as we believe and work for the seemingly impossible in 2012.

We can draw inspiration from the lives of three individuals in greatly diverse fields who passed away this year leaving legacies of far-reaching impact on our world, changing the way we think, live and interact:  John Stott, a prolific author credited with shaping 20th century evangelical Christianity; Vaclav Havel, Czech playwright, dissident and politician; and Steve Jobs, our modern-day Thomas Edison, innovator and entrepreneur. 

The legacy of John Stott

1.  Make a commitment to study the Bible.

Stott woke up at 5:00 a.m. daily to read the Bible and pray for hundreds of people before breakfast.  For more than 50 years, he read the entire Bible annually.

"We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.” – John Stott

2.  Make a commitment to social responsibility, starting with the needs of those around us.

“Social responsibility becomes an aspect not of Christian mission only, but also of Christian conversion. It is impossible to be truly converted to God without being thereby converted to our neighbor.” – John Stott

3.  Mentor others – see the tremendous value and need for mentoring and take the time to do so.

John Stott wrote more than 50 books, crafted the Lausanne Covenant, a defining statement which launched the world evangelical movement, and an Anglican preacher, but many knew him as a mentor who personally and profoundly touched their lives.  Billy Graham considered him a mentor. 

4.  Be salt and light in the world.

“We should not ask, ‘What is wrong with the world?’ for that diagnosis has already been given. Rather we should ask, "What has happened to salt and light?" – John Stott

5.  Learn how to communicate effectively and clearly.

"He wasn't Billy Graham," Richard J. Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary said, "but he just exuded wisdom. He was able to take difficult topics and make them plain for people who are not all that tuned in to high-level intellectual discussion, yet he had the respect of scholars. He was one of those bridge figures."

The legacy of Vaclav Havel

6.  Stand up for what is right, even if it may cost you.

A playwright, politician, dissident and intellectual, Havel gained international fame with Charter 77, a human rights manifesto which led to multiple imprisonments by the communist regime.

7.  Be humble.

“As soon as man began considering himself the source of the highest meaning in the world and the measure of everything, the world began to lose its human dimension, and man began to lose control of it.” – Vaclav Havel

8.  Keep your joy and child-like wonder.  Be an artist, in the classic sense or otherwise.

Havel was known to roller skate in the palace in Prague.

9.  When confronted with lies and hatred, respond with truth and love.

Havel may best be remembered as a symbol of democracy and freedom who once said "truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred".

The legacy of Steve Jobs

10.   Use your abilities to make a difference in the world.  Be innovative, while maintaining focus and simplicity.

Or as Jobs said he desired to “make a dent in the universe”.   It would be difficult to overstate the impact of his life and legacy.  I don't think many of us would know how to go back to a world without Apple products.

11.  Stay married to your spouse.

Jobs did that as well.  This has a greater impact on our world than we may realize and affects generations.       

12.  Follow your heart and passions in life.  Don’t just settle.

And so I end with these words . . .

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." – Steve Jobs

What will be your legacy?  Endeavor to make a difference in 2012.  And may it be by the grace of Jesus Christ, bringing honor to God.