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In Acts 9:17-19, Ananias went to Saul, 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.”
Ananias goes to the enemy of the church and calls him Brother. Can you imagine how Saul must have felt when another believer, a follower of Jesus, called him brother! A brother is part of the family, and Ananias was calling him a brother. When you come to Jesus, you will have a new family. The church is to be a family, and we love our brothers and sisters because they are a part of the family of God. Someone told me one time, “You can pick your friends, but you cannot pick your family.” That is why we need to be connected to a church family!
Saul was saved on the Damascus Road, but now God sent Ananias to Saul for healing and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The first things Saul needed were healing and being filled with the Spirit! How many today need something from the Lord, we need healing (wholeness) in our lives and we need to be filled with the Spirit. Because we cannot live this spiritual life without the Holy Spirit. Today, ask the Lord for healing and to fill you with His Spirit!
Saul was then baptized in water. Water Baptism is an outward sign to others of what Jesus has done for you inside. It signifies dying to sin and the old man and being resurrected into a new man in Christ.
We need to be thankful for the salvation experience in our lives, but then we need to start the journey of following Jesus, just like Saul.
Maybe God wants you to be an Ananias in someone else’s life, walking this journey with them! Today, people need to know that they are a part of a spiritual family!
Lord, connect us with people who can help us and whom we can help to be followers of Jesus!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws on many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and from significant emotional experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. The daily devotion appears in this publication.
