Saul to Paul

Acts 13:4-12
Saul and company have gone throughout the island of Cyprus on the first missionary journey.  We don't get an account of the things that happened in the eastern or central parts of the island. Doubtless they, being filled with the Holy Spirit, saw extraordinary results from their preaching and testimony of Jesus' death, burial and ressurection.  However, the Holy Spirit excluded all those things from being recorded and chose to point to the flavor of Paul's (no longer Saul, the Rich Young Ruler, the upstart Messiah, the enforcer of Hebrew power and restoration...) new ministry, method and future expectations.

Paul's encounter with the bar-Jesus character points to the spiritual warfare that is brought against him on many occasions as he divides the synagogues and plants new churches.  However, this encounter is a reflection of the path that Saul had been on since the power that now possessed "Elymas" was satanic.  2 things point to the background of this sorcerer having been, like Saul, a Pharisee. Paul calls him "son of the devil," in concert with Jesus (John 8:44).  Again, Elymas is stricken with blindness in concert with the revelation of the true Messiah, Jesus, to Saul the fire-breathing Pharisee (Acts 9:1).

Paul leaves behind his name, his heritage, his past and any ideas of doing ministry for Jesus in a gentle, peaceful manner.  Ahead of him are the dangers he lists later in 2 Corinthians 11, notable among which is the fact that he will not be able to count the number of beatings.  This encounter with the sorcerer of Pamphos sets the stage for those of us who read later to note that our faith is to be lived out with an awareness that conflict is inevitable.  Saul decided to embrace his ministry by pressing on as Paul and, once done, he left Cyprus behind and went after the Gentile world, putting his Roman citizenship to good use.

Not a Greek god...

John 5:37 (38) - "The Father who sent me has also borne testimony to me himself; but His voice you have never heard, His form you have never seen, His word you have not kept..."

Implicit in this statement by Jesus is the fact that his Father has a form, a body. those of you who are trying to maintain a worship for the cosmic everythingness like evolutionists or silly theologians teach need to know that:
1. Jesus is God and has a body and an individuality.
2. Holy Spirit is God and has a body and individuality.
3. Our Father which art in heaven has a body and individuality.

Fear of anthropomorphism (giving human characteristics to God) must not result in foolish, UNBIBLICAL descriptions of God. He is not some primordial fireball. He is not nirvana or super-consciousness. He has arms to hold and hands to touch and eyes to see and a heart that beats in love for the world for which He gave His only begotten Son.
You may meet Him at the cross.
Come to the cross.