{"id":4177,"date":"2024-02-07T23:32:33","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T23:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/?p=4177"},"modified":"2024-02-07T23:32:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T23:32:37","slug":"an-unexpected-detour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wow\/word_of_the_week_post\/an-unexpected-detour\/","title":{"rendered":"An Unexpected Detour"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAnd he said, \u2018Who are You, Lord?\u2019 Then the Lord said,\u00a0\u2018I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.\u2019 Acs 9:5-6<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first 22 verses of Acts 9 tell of the amazing conversion of Saul of Tarsus during his
Damascus encounter. The blinding light, the power that knocked him to the ground, three days
of being blind and dumbfounded, and the subsequent visit from Ananias, gives us tremendous
insight into the dynamics of how God works through prayer, and a better understanding of the workings of the kingdom of heaven!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hedge that Paul walked into outside of Damascus was there because the believers at
Damascus were believers who prayed. Ananias, being directed by the Lord to go and minister to
Saul was a result of prayer. If Ananias had not been praying and seeking the Lord, he would not
have been prepared to hear the Lord and obey Him and go to minister to Saul.
Saul of Tarsus was no longer leading a murderous rampage against God\u2019s people. He was one of
God\u2019s people. He should have known Psalm 34:7, that says, \u201cThe angel of the Lord encamps all
around those who fear Him, And delivers them.\u201d That hedge outside of Damascus that Saul
walked into was a wall of warrior angels with their swords drawn, ready to execute judgment on
an enemy of the church. God\u2019s love, however, triumphed, taking the enemy\u2019s number one
general out of play, and bringing him into the church, fulfilling also what Jesus taught, \u201cLove your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saul was rerouted by an unexpected detour, and the church has never been the same. Ananias
was rerouted to a danger zone \u2013 right into the presence of the greatest enemy of the church! His
statements about Jesus appearing to him on the road let Saul know that the Church of the Lord
Jesus Christ is a highly organized and efficient system that operates through prayer, revelation knowledge, and Holy Spirit power!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at Ananias; he was a Christian like you or me. Can you imagine the harvest he received
when he eventually went to heaven simply because he was praying at a critical time?
Prayer is a most effective way of destroying the works of the devil and bringing about God\u2019s
purposes and plans! Prayer closes the doors of the enemy and opens the doors of heaven!
This year: 2024, is the Year of the Open Door! Let\u2019s be praying. Let\u2019s be expecting, Let\u2019s be
walking in the reality of heaven\u2019s provisions and promises. Let\u2019s go through those open doors
and get this job done, let\u2019s do it magnificently, and let\u2019s go be with Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Love,
Pastor Tom<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kingdom Business is Eternal, as are the rewards that come from God. If this ministry has been a
blessing to you, please consider partnering with us in prayer, as the Lord leads you, or in financial
support. Please visit our website at www.testamentoflove.org<\/a> to learn more about this ministry! Luke 6:38<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd he said, \u2018Who are You, Lord?\u2019 Then the Lord said,\u00a0\u2018I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.\u2019 Acs 9:5-6 The first 22 verses of Acts 9 tell of the amazing conversion of Saul of Tarsus during hisDamascus encounter. The blinding light, the power that knocked him to the ground, three daysof being blind and dumbfounded, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word_of_the_week_post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testamentoflove.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}