Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Making a Minister

“And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.  But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness… unto whom now I send thee… to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me” (Acts 26:15-18).

A minister that Christ will send
Is made by Him before he goes.
The hand of  God will apprehend
And mold that one whom He foreknows.

And Saul was surely one selected
That no one ever could have guessed
Would be a servant thus perfected
By God, that sinners might be blessed.

“But rise, and stand upon thy feet,”
He heard our risen Lord command.
There was a purpose to complete
That God in him before had planned.

The Lord would do such mighty things
Through Saul of Tarsus (later Paul),
As he would testify to kings
And other people, great and small.

The lost would open then their eyes;
They’d turn from darkness to the light,
They’d turn to God from Satan’s lies,
And find forgiveness in God’s sight.

And Paul would show those who believed
That they were freely justified
With an inheritance received,
By which they had been sanctified.

O Lord, we see in Paul portrayed
Your mercies that we clearly trace,
Which show how ministers are made;
So mold us likewise by Your grace!

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