Tag: Ananias

Morning Prayer: Wednesday, 28 June – Acts 9:1-19 ~ Good News for Saul

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Prayer

Draw me close, Holy Spirit, as I read the Scriptures and reflect on your Word. Let the word of faith be on my lips and in my heart, and let all other words slip away. May there be one voice I hear today — the voice of truth and grace. Amen.
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Reading: Acts 9:1-19 (NLT)

Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.

As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.

And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.

Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord!” he replied.

The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”

“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.
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Reflection and Prayer:

Lord Jesus: if it takes getting knocked off my “high horse” to get my attention, so be it. Do what it takes in me, to make me available and useful to you.

+ Forgive my years of self-centeredness and indifference, especially to the needs of those around me. I am truly sorry that you had to die because of my sin. Thank you for your amazing love for me, for your mercy and grace.

+ Before I was born, you knew me and called me by name to serve you. Everything you have done in me to this point in my life has prepared me to meet the challenges of this day. Fill me with your Spirit, that I may faithfully follow you.

+ Open my spiritual eyes and ears, that I may recognize what you are doing around me and join you in your work. Set me free from the prison of my fears, that I may press on, even when the prospects for success seem unlikely to me.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your amazing love for me. Renew and refresh me in your Spirit, that I may hear and obey your word to me, and love and serve you as your faithful witness today. All to the glory of the Father, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
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“And Can It Be” – Stuart Townend


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Concluding Prayer – Psalm 138:7-8 (NLT)

Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will protect me from the anger of my enemies. You reach out your hand, and the power of your right hand saves me.

The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Morning Prayer: 24 Apr – Acts 9:1-20; John 6:52-59 ~ I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences and prayer:

Light’s glittering morn bedecks the sky, Heav’n thunders forth its victor cry: The glad earth shouts her triumph high, And groaning hell makes wild reply. While He, the King of sovereign might, Treads down death’s strength in death’s despite, And trampling hell by victor’s right, Brings forth His sleeping saints to light.
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Almighty God, we have come to know the grace of our Lord’s resurrection. Grant that through the love of your Spirit we may rise to new life. Make us radiant with Christ’s glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

A Reading from Acts: Acts 9:1-20 (NLT)

Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them — both men and women — back to Jerusalem in chains.

Conversion of St. Paul Nicolas Bernard Lépicié, 1767
Conversion of St. Paul
Nicolas Bernard Lépicié, 1767

As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.

And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.

Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord!” he replied.

The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”

“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.

Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”
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Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood, remains in me and I in him, says the Lord. (John 6:56)
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A Reading from the Gospels: John 6:52-59 (NLT)

communion flesh and blood

Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
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Canticle

Christ, as a light illumine and guide me. Christ as a shield overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing:

May the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Reading: Acts 24:1-27 NLT – justice delayed…

Reading: Acts 24:1-27 NLT

Five days later Ananias, the high priest, arrived with some of the Jewish elders and the lawyer Tertullus, to present their case against Paul to the governor. When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented the charges against Paul in the following address to the governor:

Paul before Felix William Hogarth (1752-62)
Paul before Felix
William Hogarth (1752-62)

“You have provided a long period of peace for us Jews and with foresight have enacted reforms for us. For all of this, Your Excellency, we are very grateful to you. But I don’t want to bore you, so please give me your attention for only a moment. We have found this man to be a troublemaker who is constantly stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes. Furthermore, he was trying to desecrate the Temple when we arrested him. You can find out the truth of our accusations by examining him yourself.” Then the other Jews chimed in, declaring that everything Tertullus said was true.

The governor then motioned for Paul to speak. Paul said, “I know, sir, that you have been a judge of Jewish affairs for many years, so I gladly present my defense before you. You can quickly discover that I arrived in Jerusalem no more than twelve days ago to worship at the Temple. My accusers never found me arguing with anyone in the Temple, nor stirring up a riot in any synagogue or on the streets of the city. These men cannot prove the things they accuse me of doing.

“But I admit that I follow the Way, which they call a cult. I worship the God of our ancestors, and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything written in the prophets. I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous. Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.

“After several years away, I returned to Jerusalem with money to aid my people and to offer sacrifices to God. My accusers saw me in the Temple as I was completing a purification ceremony. There was no crowd around me and no rioting. But some Jews from the province of Asia were there — and they ought to be here to bring charges if they have anything against me! Ask these men here what crime the Jewish high council found me guilty of, except for the one time I shouted out, ‘I am on trial before you today because I believe in the resurrection of the dead!’”

At that point Felix, who was quite familiar with the Way, adjourned the hearing and said, “Wait until Lysias, the garrison commander, arrives. Then I will decide the case.” He ordered an officer to keep Paul in custody but to give him some freedom and allow his friends to visit him and take care of his needs.

A few days later Felix came back with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish. Sending for Paul, they listened as he told them about faith in Christ Jesus. As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment, Felix became frightened. “Go away for now,” he replied. “When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.” He also hoped that Paul would bribe him, so he sent for him quite often and talked with him.

After two years went by in this way, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And because Felix wanted to gain favor with the Jewish people, he left Paul in prison.

Prayer: And so it goes with unprincipled rulers. Heavenly Father – Protect your people from the Evil One… delaying and deny justice for political gain. Comfort those who languish in prisons around the world simply because of their profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus – Intercede with the Father for your followers whereever they are persecuted or oppressed because they dare to speak your name. Shepherd them… guide them… live in them and through them. Holy Spirit – Reveal yourself with signs and wonders to those in prison. Speak to them through dreams and visions. Overcome their restrictions and limitations by the power of your love… that they might know you are with them… and will never leave them or forsake them. For your name’s sake. Amen.

Hymn: “You Crown The Year (Psalm 65:11)” – Hillsong Live (Glorious Ruins, 2013)

“You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.” Psalm 65:11 NLT

Morning Reading: Acts 9.10-19 NLT – go and show

Reading: Acts 9:10-19 NLT

Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord!” he replied.

The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.  I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.”

“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

image

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.  And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.

Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days.

Prayer: Lord God – Give me the courage to go where you want me to go, and do what you want me to do. Holy Spirit – Give me a willing spirit and direct what I say and do. And may I advance your Kingdom purposes in all things. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Stand up, stand up, for Jesus” – George Duffield (1858)
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Morning Reading: Acts 5.1-11 NLT – truth or consequences

Reading: Acts 5.1-11 NLT

But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.

Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”

The Death of Sapphira by Nicolas Poussin, 1652 Louvre, Paris, France.
The Death of Sapphira
by Nicolas Poussin, 1652
Louvre, Paris, France.

As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.

About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?”

“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”

Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

Prayer: Lord God – You know all things… there are no secrets hidden from you. Shine your light of truth into the hidden places of my heart… reveal my sin… restore my good senses – so that I might repent, turn away from my sin, and continue to follow you. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hymn: “I’d Rather Have Jesus” – Rhea F. Miller (1922)