Day 251
Video - Praiseworthy
Day 251
Reflection- Praiseworthy
Daily Reading - Acts 9
Acts 9: 32-35
“Meanwhile, Peter traveled from place to place, and he came down to visit the believers in the town of Lydda. There he met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up, and roll up your sleeping mat!” And he was healed instantly. Then the whole population of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas walking around, and they turned to the Lord.”
So this chapter of Acts has the conversion and road to Damascus experience of Saul who becomes Paul. I knew this before I started reading and prayed that God would show me a new insight with this powerful chapter. But I feel like Paul Harvey now, and here is the rest of the story.. After this amazing story of Saul’s conversion is the story of Peter traveling to Lydda and then Joppa to heal and perform miracles for Aeneas and Tabitha. This is where God actually had me focus and bring forth some praiseworthy truths.
Chapter nine has a lot of nuances and use of names that can get lost and overshadowed by the ‘big’ story of Saul/Paul. Aeneas is healed by Peter who was formerly Simon, and then Tabitha is healed. Tabitha we are told also is known as Dorcas and that both names mean Gazelle. Now since we know everything in the Bible is for a purpose and we can slow down we are invited to pay attention to why certain facts and explanations like this are included. So let’s put on our Sherlock Holmes hats and capes and pull out our magnifying glasses and look into what these clues are telling us🕵️♀️. I am praying that your heart will be opened in a new way like mine was.
Some other important clues to pay attention to are that Aeneas was paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Tabitha was beloved in her community, surrounded by widows at her death and known for doing kind things for her community and other widows like making coats and other clothing. Here is a break down of a few other important clues:
🔍 The name Aeneas means praise or praiseworthy.
🔍 The story of Aeneas is deliberately sandwiched in between two juxtaposing ‘naming’ examples. Saul to Paul and Tabitha and Dorcas which means the same thing either way, Gazelle.
🔍 Gazelle’s are very symbolic. They symbolize grace under pressure, beauty, elegance, rising against adversity using talents that are inherent to you, no self pity, sunshine, light, lives each day fully with a ‘can do’ attitude. These are just a few of the characteristics mentioned…
🔍 Saul/Paul decided to refer to himself and be known as the Roman form of his name Paul to remind himself that he is willing to be what he needs to be for his audience to hear the message of the good news.
The essence of each of these people does not change, but the expression, direction or how others see them and how they see themselves changes. This is praiseworthy. We each have an essence that is good, that is usable, that is who we truly are. When God or agape/true love gets into our hearts we are able to be even more of who we are. I think sometimes when we talk about transformation, dying to ourselves and becoming a new creation it can be very threatening, scary overwhelming. Will we lose who we truly are? I don’t think so. Saul was a larger than life character, who was bold, all in, good communicator, powerful. These characteristics and his essence can be put to use for good and God or for the self and for fear. But the core of who he was was who God designed, but then we have free will and choice as to how we will use our essences, gifts and talents.
The word transform means to make a marked change in form, nature or appearance. So we have three examples here; Saul has a radical conversion or transformation of his entire belief system and world view, Aeneas gets freed from something that has him paralyzed, Tabitha is who she is all along and now gets new life to be more of who she already was. In each case God gets the glory, other believers find new direction to put their essence to use in going toward and showing others the way. BTW a neat way to look at the word Damascus was shown to me as I was writing - ‘de-mask-us’🔍. Saul was able to shed the mask of fear, see and feel what true love was and he was never the same, and yet he was. He was re-directed.
God makes each of unique and for a purpose, we are made in his image. It is our own choices, fears, searching for love and belonging in other people and things of this world that corrupt and misdirect these gifts and talents. In the wisdom of the Enneagram this is referred to as dis-integration. Most of us live our lives in the ‘average’ space of our personality. The space of some integration and some disintegration. Where we think we understand what love is and that we even have some of it in our lives. The human version of love that masquerades as true love, agape love, is just that an masquerade or an illusion. Human loves is a tantalizing cocktail of security, safety, comfort, fear and just enough of a sense of ‘control’ and predictability that keeps us comfortable numb.
Some of us are able to break through either by choice, or we have an experience like the ones described in chapter 9 that sort of ‘force’ us or push us either willingly or unwillingly into a new direction. Perfect love, agape love casts out fear. Perfect love is freedom, salvation, heaven on earth, the eternal now. It is able to love other humans in non judgement, be in roles and relationships while not being held ‘captive’ by them. If we are made in God’s image, then how can our nature be ‘sinful’. This doesn’t even make sense to me. If you have believed the lie that humans are sinful by nature I invite you into a new way to look at yourself. You are praiseworthy, because God is praiseworthy! Rise up and shine your light- because it is really God’s light within that will shine. Break through the fear that is paralyzing you, keeping you stuck, keeping you bound and blind.
As I read the above quoted scripture and substitute in the word praise for Aeneas it comes to life in a new way. “Meanwhile, Peter traveled from place to place, and he came down to visit the believers in the town of Lydda. There he met a man named Praiseworthy, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, “Praise, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up, and roll up your sleeping mat!” And he was healed instantly. Then the whole population of Lydda and Sharon saw Praise walking around, and they turned to the Lord.”
Daily Journal Prompt:
What is your essence and nature? Do you know how loved you are? How praiseworthy you are? How can you re-direct your essence and nature more towards love and less towards fear?
Tomorrows Reading:
Acts: 10-12
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