…based on a true story.

About a month and a half ago Stephanie blogged about being a part of a blogger Bible Study organized by Rachel. I thought it was a pretty sweet idea and offered my support to Stephanie. Little did I know that there were spots open for weeks to host. And to make a long story short, Stephanie talked me into hosting a week, so here I am.

That’s nice and all, but I just realized I was supposed to post last Saturday, the week before we read the chapters. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. Sorry about that guys. I’m a little slow. I offer my condolences. Here is my post on Acts 18-21, nonetheless.

The Bible is full of amazing stories and people. There are countless heroes and even more unbelievable narratives. It all sounds so interesting and cool, but to be honest most of the time I just feel removed from it.

Does my faith really depend on Noah building an ark? Not really. Did a bright light knocking Paul off his donkey change my day today? Uh…

I’m not saying these things didn’t happen. I’m not saying I think the Bible is lying.

It’s just that nowadays fantastic stories are a dime a dozen. Did Harry Potter defeat Voldemort? He did in a book I read. And can my life go on if I don’t know what happens between that vampire guy and the pale chick. Praise the Lord, it does.

Hopefully, you see what I’m driving at. It’s easy to place things I read in the Bible in the same basket that I put things I read for entertainment. It’s a cool story and maybe it has a moral to think about, but what does that have to do with my faith?

But if I’m going to believe in God and trust that the Bible is His inspired scripture than I can’t bring the same mindset that I brought to the Hunger Games (which you should read). The words that I’m reading are from the one and only Star Breathing God. That should count for something right?

Sorry for that diatribe.

All of that is to say, I’ve read the account of Paul’s ministries quite a few times. So many that it doesn’t really mean much more than, “Paul went to this place. They tried to kill him. He lived anyway. Repeat.” So as I was reading through these chapters, every few verses I would tell myself, “Paul was a real guy. He had fingers. He wore clothes. He scratched itches and had to trim his finger nails, and he actually did all of the stuff you are reading about too.”

It changed my reading. It was still a lot of preaching, chasing, and escaping, but I feel like I was able to see Paul a little clearer. I saw his passion. He was relentless. His only love was the gospel and giving it to anyone who would hear it. So much so that it didn’t stop him when he realized that soon all of his work would be thwarted by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Paul was not scared to go to his certain death (apparently I really like Acts 20, sue me). Even when God sent a prophecy his way warning what awaited him.

The man knew his calling, lived in his calling, and relied on nothing more than the Spirit to get him where he needed to go. And He was a real man. He had hair and legs, and skinned his knees and belched from time to time. To me that makes it even more amazing. He’s not some alien-robot-religious-contraption from 3rd Heaven like I often think of people in the Bible. He was just a guy born in Tarsus. But he was God’s tool because he submitted and committed himself to God’s calling.

So I have 2 questions for you:

What are some challenges you face when reading the Word?

How committed to are you to your calling? Or just any thoughts/feelings/complaints about this whole calling business in general.