beginnings - Paul

As I have written elsewhere, I can remember clearly the day, time and place when I decided to follow Jesus and stop messing around with my life. In the end it was a level headed response to what I believe was the clear call of God when at the back of a packed Baptist church in Wimbledon Jesus said, “Follow me”. And I have to admit it was the best decision of my life!

I have friends who can never remember a time when they didn’t love Jesus and I have friends who have never made the decision to follow Him. I would never describe my choice as a Damascus road experience although there were a few doubters at the Christian Union of my college who would not believe the change in me until I had made a public appearance at one of their meetings!

Paul new exactly the day, time and place where he met with Jesus. Zealous for the Judaic way of life he persecuted the new believers dragging them off to prison and consenting to their deaths. His conversion required being knocked off his horse, voices from heaven and blindness to change the direction of his life! From then on he embraced this new way of life (as it was then called) preaching and proving that Jesus was the Christ. He strengthened the believers, planted new churches, saw people turning to Christ compelled by the great love that had so captured his own heart. Paul became, amongst other things, the great theologian taking the vast themes of the Old Testament and translating them in the light of Christ, writing letters to the churches in Rome, Corinth, Philippi and Ephesus amongst others.

But it is the time spent in the secret place with God that intrigues me. In Galatians ch 1:17-18 it says that Paul went away into Arabia and then after three years he went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. A three year quiet time in the desert with Jesus!

Lord, as I seek to serve you, may it come out of spending time in the secret place with you. Amen.