Getting UnStuck In Your Thinking
Acts 9:1-20
9 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision,“Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
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.
Video for this week’s service can be viewed @ Sunday, August 28, 2022
NewDay friends...
What do you do when you find yourself in a place where you are spinning your wheels, stuck in the same struggles without much movement forward?
In the midst of a conversation with a friend awhile back he said something to me that created a series of long discussions the months following that moment. He said, “John, sometimes I get so tired of myself. I keep dealing with the same issues and I just want to get out of the rut I’ve found myself in for the past few years. I’m living for God the best I can, but I wonder if something is missing. Can you help me figure that out?”
Over the next few months we had some amazing conversations because he was so willing to be honest and truly wanted to change. His new perspective gave him the insights to trust God for what he could not see and implement new habits that displaced some of his old ones. On top of that, he discovered how much Jesus loved him and it ignited his love for him in a way it hadn’t before!
I want to offer you some genuine encouragement that God has the ability to help you move forward through some of the common struggles we will be talking about over the next four weeks. Don’t allow the voice of uncertainty defeat you. God is the author of restoration and repairer of relationships. Discover the joy of lasting help as you take new steps of faith and learn the secrets of getting unstuck!
August 28 – Getting Unstuck In Your Thinking (Acts 9:1-20)
September 4 – Getting Unstuck from Guilt & Shame (John 4:1-42)
September 11 – Getting Unstuck from Trying to Measure Up (1 Samuel 4:1-11)
September 18 – Getting Unstuck from Worry & Anxiety (Philippians 4:6-9)
My prayer for you today is what Paul prayed over the church in Ephesus…
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19
Grateful to journey together with you!
Pastor John