KEY SCRIPTURE: Galatians 1:16 “To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. “

Apostle Paul said that after the encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, he did not seek any human influence but went into Arabia (solitude). He went to Arabia, which was very close to Damascus, precisely in the southern part of it. It was after three years that he went to see Peter in Jerusalem. Through that isolation to stay in God’s presence, he had a deeper knowledge of God and the truth about Jesus. Our present social media age robs many of that quality time to know God because most people have been taken over by the attention to their phones.

  In the Acts’ account, which was recorded by Luke, he talked about the blindness that fell on Paul and also about Ananias, one of the Lord’s disciples, who was sent by the Lord to pray for him. His eyes were opened, and he received the Holy Spirit. There is no conflict between these two reports. It is the case of what the Holy Spirit wanted to communicate at each instant. Why did Paul have to stay in Arabia and Damascus for three years before coming to the brethren in Jerusalem? He needed to know the Lord who had commissioned him more deeply. It was in his solitude that he received most of the revelations. No wonder he came back to challenge the Jewish teachers.

  Paul ‘s devotion and confining himself to seek the face of the master allowed him to receive such mighty revelations. Some of the revelations were so deep that Apostle Peter had to admit that some of the things taught by Paul were hard to understand, and those who do not understand and are unstable wrestle with the message as they do with the other scriptures. (2nd Pet 3:16).

   Paul’s personal commitment to the Lord Jesus exposed him to these wonderful truths. Many are converted but do not have any personal relationship with the Lord. Dear child of God, the Christian life is a revelation of Jesus through you. How can he be revealed through you if you don’t know him? It must be your number one ambition to know him on a very personal level. Jesus said I am the vine, and ye are the branches; abide in me, so that you will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5) Develop a deep personal devotional time with Him. Keep all destruction of the phone, TV, and others out. The more you relate to him, the more useful you will be to him.

   There are many people whom we win through personal evangelism, and we need to disciple them to become workers for God. We have to pray, teach, and encourage them to develop a personal relationship with the master. So long as they know Jesus personally, they will remain fruitful. Please take this working definition of a disciple: One becomes a disciple when he becomes stabilized in the faith, and has an ongoing commitment to the lordship of Jesus Christ, and has developed the basic disciplines of Christian living and services, so that the lifelong maturing process is guaranteed as much as humanly possible. This could be achieved through a discipleship program.

PRAYER.

I pray for all Christians to develop a strong desire to be acquainted with our master, Jesus. That they would not be carried away by the present wind of entertainment through social media, but would give quality time to seek the face of the Lord.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 15:7-8 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Isaiah 40:31” But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”