SAUL or ANANIAS...

I am sure other people have made the comparison I am about to make, but I am going to make it anyway, because it hit me afresh last week.

Acts 9:3-5
As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Acts 9:10
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

Here we have Saul. Religious leader extraordinaire. He knew all the rules. He could read the scrolls. He was as good a Pharisee as one could be. Yet, he had no relationship with God or Jesus. He didn't even recognize the voice of the Lord when He spoke to Him.
Then there is Ananias. A disciple. Maybe he didn't know and keep all the rules. Perhaps he couldn't read all the scrolls. He knew Jesus though. He knew His voice when He called.

One of my concerns is that I don't become more like Saul than Ananias.
I know the rules, I know what and what not to do, I know the Scripture and can quote it, yet I miss the voice of the Lord. I don't even recognize it.

I think it is a healthy concern. Yes, it must be kept in check and not become a window for the enemy to get a foothold in my thoughts, but it is something to be aware of. Even Paul, formerly Saul, warns about it.

1 Timothy 6:20-21
O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.

Guarding my faith. The entirety of it.
What I know the Scriptures say.
What I know to be the heart of God.
What I know He says about me.
Guard it.
Be on guard.

How?
By being in relationship with Him.
By reading the Word, hiding it in my heart, and knowing what it says to be true.
By talking with Him, not in rote prayers, but in honest conversation.
By being quiet before Him and listening.

By being deliberate in my pursuit of Jesus.

John 10:27-28
 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 


May we be found following our shepherd and led not astray by another.