Devin Heflin


“God, Why Me?”   (Acts 9:1-6)

BY MINISTER DEVIN HEFLIN
     One thing we must understand and often fail to understand about this Christian lifestyle is that there are going to be moments when we feel like Saul. We’ve all echoed his same sentiments and some of us are still echoing them, “God, Why Me?”, you want me to become a disciple of your church, I thought I was good at simply being a member. God chooses us for a number of reasons.
     I. He sees the conqueror in your character. (Verse 15)
God saw a burning passion within Saul that was misdirected, the same way he sees in us. Many of us have talents that could be used to erect and expand the kingdom of God but we spend a large portion of time squandering those talents. We have to learn to stretch our “spiritual legs” to step out on the faith that he has given us. God chooses us because he’s already seen the finished product and he knows the abilities that lie in that product’s character because he is the producer.
He sees the conqueror in your character and in your quest of realizing your importance to his kingdom he will:
     II. Send somebody to comfort your confusion. (Verse 11&12)
On the outside looking in, we would have had the same reaction as Ananias when the claims were made that Saul was converted and was in need of a father in the ministry that would steer him in the ways of Christ. I thank God for Ananias’s today. For every Saul that has ever become wayward and accustomed to evil, there is an Ananias that is placed in their lives to educate them about their errors and comfort their confusion. How can we as the church say that we’ve been carrying out the will of God effectively if we can’t even witness to the community that our church sits in?
     III. He looks at your potential and not your past. (Verse 15&16)
     Where man doubts, God delivers. With all of the evil Saul had done and had planned to do, God sought to change his mission and position. The Lord says in verse 16 that he’s going to show us many wonders in the midst of our worries and he’ll never leave us during our laboring. As we read on later in the book of Acts, the conversion of Saul also came with the changing of his name to Paul. History indicates that during the course of his ministry, Paul was stoned, shipwrecked spat on and criticized, but nonetheless he kept a burning passion to bring the word of God to his people. We see Saul had to reach a point where he grew tired of being “just Saul”. We have to become like Saul and grow tired of just being ourselves, we have to desire more out of God. Answers aren’t going to come to you overnight, remember Paul spent two years in the desert consulting God on the course of his ministry and he still struggled, but the difference of living in Christ is that you don’t have to face your struggle alone.
     Biographical Information
     Devin Heflin is a young man with a passion for the things of God. He accepted Christ at the age of eight and quickly discovered God's will for his life. He serves under the leadership of Dr. Rolous A. Frazier, Pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church and recently adhered to his calling to preach the uncompromising word of God. In addition to his devotion to the ministry, he is the feature writer for The Orlando Times newspaper. Minister Heflin is a graduate of Winter Park High School and is currently enrolled at Valencia Community College where he is obtaining an Associate of Arts degree in Journalism. His commitment to the Kingdom of God at such an early age will help him endure and inspire his future.

LET THE CHAPLAIN SPEAK:

Chaplain Fleeks

BY CHAPLAIN BERNARD FLEEKS
“Why Do You Call Me, “Lord, Lord”?
Jesus said, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord,
and do not the things which I say?
Whosoever comes to me, and hears my sayings,
and does them, I will show you to whom he is like:
He is like a man which built a house, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on a rock:
and when the flood arose, the stream beat very hard upon that house,
and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
But he that hears, and does not, is like a man that without a foundation built
an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat very hard,
and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great, St. Luke 6: 46-49.
Let’s try harder Church!
Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord”?