John Pittman

Why do you think God sends Ananias to Paul rather than revealing directly? The fact that God chose to use Ananias to go to Paul was so that Paul would see that the Lord could use His followers as instruments of His will be done on earth. That through prayer to God that Paul would see that He answers prayer and will use His followers for works of healing, mercy and grace. Why does Ananias argue with God? Ananias knew the name Saul of Tarsus and of his reputation of persecuting the believers of Jesus Christ those who were of the Way. Ananias also knew that Saul had the authority to capture and persecute anyone who called on the name of the Lord. Why does it take courage to obey? Because fear has been ushered in through the news of Saul’s campaign of persecution of the believers. It takes courage (FAITH) to obey a command that puts your life in jeopardy. What does Ananias do and say? Ananias obeys and goes the street called Straight, finds Saul and lays his hands on him to pray. He tells Saul that the Lord Jesus who appeared to Saul on the road also told him to come and pray for him. Have you ever had God guide you to talk with someone and minister to him or her? Have you followed through?

Why does persecuting Christ's people constitute persecuting Christ himself? The persecuting of Christs’ followers is one and the same as persecuting Christ because of Christ’s spirit that lives in them. When a person accepts Christ as Lord and Savior there is a mystical transformation of that person. The spirit of Christ enters into the inner man and resides, dwells there to give light into the darkness of the heart, to sanctify and make holy the entire being of that person. When someone harasses, oppresses, torments or in any other way persecutes a believer they are in effect, essentially, fundamentally coming against Christ Himself. Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 about caring for others who are hungry, naked, sick and imprisoned and when we do so it is the same as doing it to Him. “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” There is a spiritual connection between Christ and the believer that cannot be seen with the naked eye in the natural sense. It is this spiritual connection that gives credence, gives credibility and understanding to the belief that when we persecute Christ’s followers that we in turn persecute Christ Himself. What kinds of goads or prods have you seen God use on you to move you along Christ's path? Several “goads” have been used to prod me along Christ’s path to holiness. First, the utter dissatisfaction with myself that manifested itself one day leaving church and realizing that the sermons heard on Sunday were not changing my life. I began each Monday the same disgusting person as the week before. Second, a failure of a marriage relationship in fact three relationships that all failed because they were based on the desires of the flesh. The sudden loss of employment to move, to prod me along into ministry. When you "kick against the goads" is it harder on you or on God? Kicking against the goads is probably harder on God in the sense that what He is prodding me to is a greater good that He sees and that I am resisting. The prodding causes pain and God does not want to be the cause of pain in our lives. All His thoughts are for our good.