Overachiever

 

A series on meeting God – Saul
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Acts 9:1-18 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Growing up, my dad overcame many hurdles. Born in 1902, he grew up poor on a farm in Iowa. When he was eight his dad died suddenly. Since he was the oldest of four kids, he ran the farm. Because all four kids took turns attending college and working on the farm, he didn’t graduate until he was twenty-four

 

After getting his bachelor’s degree, he returned to grad school and went on to get his master’s and then his doctorate in chemistry. At his first job, he rose through the ranks and became the head of research and development. Dad was an overachiever.

 

So was Saul. Shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. It was at this time that the church began to grow by leaps and bounds. They met publicly in the temple to pray, and people came from all over to be healed by the apostles. The religious leaders were extremely jealous.

 

As a result, the apostles were persecuted, including thrown into jail. Then one day, Stephen was dragged in front of the Sanhedrin where they brought false witnesses against him. As mob rule took over, they stoned him to death with Saul’s approved.

 

But Saul wasn’t satisfied. His hatred for the followers of Jesus resulted in further persecution.

 

³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.         NIV    Acts 8

 

He was like a shark that could smell blood in the water. After his conversion, he described his hatred like this.

 

^10b On the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.            NIV    Acts 26

 

But on the way to Damascus, Saul was confronted by Jesus when a light from heaven flashed around him and Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 

Following this, Saul was blind for three days until Ananias, led by the Lord, opened his eyes. Jesus had greater plans for Saul… the overachiever.

 

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.  NIV

 

The spirit led Paul on three missionary trips covering thousands of miles across the Roman Empire. Jews and Gentiles alike were converted to follow Jesus. Paul was an overachiever both before his conversion and after.

 

But it doesn’t matter if you’re an overachiever or an underachiever. Jesus meets us where we are at and will use our gifts for his plan. Even if it means getting knocked off our horse by a blinding flash of light, Jesus is always pursuing us to follow him.

 

¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.                     NLT   1 Peter 4

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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The Top Twenty-Five

Galatians 5:13-26

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+5%3A13-26&version=NIV;NLT

 

College football is upon us! We’re approaching the fifth week of the season and, as far as I know, no coaches have been fired yet. Every week the AP Poll and Amway Coaches

Poll comes out ranking the top twenty-five teams. For a coach whose team is ranked, they can feel secure in their job. For a coach whose team isn’t ranked, they might want to step it up.

 

In the world of athletics, success is based on victory. Iconic coach, Vince Lombardi, is quoted as saying, “Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.” But winning all the time is a struggle because, not only is your opponent trying to beat you, but also you have to overcome adversity during the course of the game; and your own self-doubts and weaknesses.

 

Our life is like that too. Sometimes the circumstances of life can be very difficult; or you might face a struggle within yourselves. Sometimes we even face a competitor that wants to bring us down. There’s a constant battle going on. Paul wrote about this struggle to the Galatians.

 

¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.       NLT

 

As a believer, what we have going for us is that our sinful nature has been crucified on the cross, and although we still struggle, and may not win every battle, the war has already been won. So we have been called to live by the Spirit.

 

²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵ Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.   NLT

 

A college football coach can easily measure his success by wins and losses and by where his team ranks in the weekly polls. What about you? How do you measure your success as a believer?

 

Even though you struggle; even though you aren’t always victorious; your name will appear in the top 25 as undefeated. You are undefeated because the victory has already been won by Christ.