Posts Tagged: Saul
“AN UNHANDLED EXCEPTION”
“We’re sorry! We have encountered an unhandled exception.”
Have you ever had this message (or something similar) pop up on your computer? I have. I’m not sure precisely what it means, but I do know that it indicates that something has gone wrong.
I was listening yesterday to a song by Ryan Stevenson, called “No Matter What”. Here are the lyrics.
“A lot of us grew up believing
At any moment we could lose it all
And at the drop of a hat
God might turn His back and move on
A lot of us feel like we blew it
Thinking that we’re just too far gone
But I want you to know
There’s still a hope for you now
[Chorus 1]
No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter what
[Verse 2]
There’s never been a better time to get honest
There’s never been a better time to get clean
So come as you are
Run to the cross and be free
Oh, be free
[Chorus 2]
No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter where you run
He’s always holding on
You’re still a daughter, You’re still a son
No matter what
[Bridge]
Don’t know what you’ve been taught
Don’t know what you’ve been told
All I know is my God
Will never let go of you, no-o-o-ooo
And I don’t know what you’ve seen
Don’t know what you’ve been through
All I know is my God
Will never let go of you
He’ll never let go!
He’ll never, never, never let you go
[Chorus 2]
No matter what you’ve done
You can’t erase His love
Nothing can change it
You’re not separated
No matter where you run
He’s always holding on
You’re still a daughter, You’re still a son
No matter what
[Outro]
You’re still a daughter, You’re still a son!…
No matter what.”
After hearing this song, it suddenly occurred to me that I had believed this for a long time—with one “unhandled exception.” I didn’t believe it for my own self. I was the unhandled exception.
Why should I believe that I am so exceptional? I don’t know. I really don’t. Yes, I am unique; and so are you. But exceptional? Not so much!
The Apostle Paul, before he was the Apostle Paul, was known as Saul. He persecuted the church, casting his vote for death against anyone who named the name of Christ. In fact, he was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christ-followers there. On the way to Damascus, a very crazy-way-more-than-awkward thing happened: He was confronted in a vision with the risen Christ. “Saul, Saul!” cried a voice from Heaven. “Why are you persecuting me?” The “me” turned out to be Jesus Christ. It was “a blinding revelation” in every sense of that expression.
Saul/Paul never got over what a screw-up he was. Near the end of his life, Paul wrote these words:
“15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’– and I am the worst of them all.”
Paul knew that he was exceptional—exceptionally evil! Interestingly, even though he is now a Christ-follower, an evangelist, a church planter, he still says that he “is” the worst of sinners. It is in the present tense in Greek. He is still very much aware of his exceptional condition as a sinner. A saved sinner? Yes! But still a sinner, and the worst of the lot.
But then, Paul goes on to say,
“16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.”
Paul thought of himself as an exceptionally difficult case. However, Paul also thought of himself as an exceptionally wonderful example of God’s mercy. Paul is saying here, “If God can have mercy on me and save me, he can save anybody! There are no unhandled exceptions!”
And so, Paul ends with praise:
17 “All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.”
Here is the heart of the matter: I am exceptionally evil, and probably, so are you! However, there is an exceptional God with an exceptional Son, and there are no unhandled exceptions for them.
“THE GOD OF GREAT REVERSALS”
I was reading Psalm 113 this morning, during my devotional time, when I noticed an intriguing comment in the NIV Study Bible (page 1141). “This psalm highlights the Lord’s character and nature, especially his ability to accomplish great reversals.”
Have you ever had “a great reversal?” There are certainly bad reversals that are huge. I have had a few of them in my lifetime. Some (no, most) have been caused by own bad choices. Such reversals are painful. But, as someone has said, you can learn a lot more from 10 minutes of real pain than from ten years of pleasure. Still, pain is pain.
But there are also good reversals that are quite large. You lose a job, and immediately find one that you love that also pays more. You lose a close relationship, but come to realize that it was not healthy for you, and that your present relationship is exceedingly good for both of you over the long haul. You are pretty sure that you have a life-threatening health issue, but find out that it is something that can be treated by a course of antibiotics.
The Bible has stories and teachings that deal with both kinds of reversals. Kings in the Old Testament start off well, and then go off the rails. Slaves are liberated, and then start complaining and remembering “the good old days”—when they were slaves!
But then, there are also a lot of great reversals that are also good. Joseph is sold into slavery (by his brothers, no less), but eventually is second in command in Egypt. Eventually, he is even reconciled with his brothers—sort of.
Daniel is thrown into a pit with hungry appetites, but strangely enough, they are fasting that particular night. Come the morning, Daniel walks out of the lions’ den unscathed.
The New Testament is full of reversals as well. Saul (a.k.a., Paul) hounds believers in Jesus to the death, but Saul himself is stalked by the Hound of Heaven, until Saul is run down on the road to Damascus. Paul now became a leading proponent of the very Jesus he had despised.
But the greatest and best reversal of all was Jesus himself. Tortured, crucified, dead, and buried. A few days later, Jesus was alive.
Now, that is a grand reversal! What great reversal do you need in your own life?
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
- “Christian Speech” October 26, 2024“Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length: “29. Now the […]
- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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