Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

 

6. Ananias is Obedient

After being honest with God about his concerns, hearing God tell him again what he was to do and why he was to do it (15-16), Ananias obeys Him and lays his hands on Paul and watches the scales fall from Paul’s eyes.  So he was insecure and afraid, but because of God’s patience and power, Ananias obeyed and was used to minister to the man who would become the most influential redeemed sinner in the Christian faith.  In Acts 22, Paul shares his testimony and says this about Ananias (12), “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law…” Ananias was known for his obedience to God.  The life of obedience always leads to God's glory and the good for others.

Nias,

I pray that you would be a man who after responding honestly to God, work through your fears and insecurities and are obedient to Him. He is God. He is good and He is in control. As the old hymn says, “Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”  I pray that God would use you to remove spiritual scales from the eyes of servants of God like the apostle Paul.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

 

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

 

5.Ananias is Honest with God

God tells Ananias in verses 11-12 to go lay hands on Saul of Tarsus and pray for him, that he may regain his sight.  Verse 13-14 is not Ananias’ most glorious moment. As a matter of fact, he seems to think that he needs to remind God of who Saul of Tarsus is.  “’Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.’” So we see here that Ananias is afraid of that which God has called him to do. He responds in what seems to be fear hoping to enlighten God so as to protect him-self.  Oh, how I can identify with Ananias. All too often when God calls me to do something, my first response is hesitation, fear and insecurity. But the reason I highlight this is because of verse 15, “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.’” The advancement of the Kingdom of God is not predicated upon the initial response of the man/woman God calls, but upon the almighty power, love, mercy, wisdom and patience of The Almighty King of the Kingdom.

Nias,

We serve a God who is slow to anger and quick to love. When you feel insecure and afraid, you can tell Him. He will be patient and give you what you need to persevere. His Kingdom will advance.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

 

4. Ananias Responds to God

Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Samuel and…Ananias? If you are familiar with the Christian faith you are familiar with the first 5 heroes that I mentioned. What do they have in common with Ananias of Damascus? Very simple, God spoke to them and their response was either “Here am I” (Abraham, Jacob, Isaiah) or “Here I am” (Moses, Samuel). Acts 9:10b Ananias responds to God, “Here I am, Lord.” I love this. I love the posture of these men being ready to listen to God when He speaks.  It reminds me of standing in the dugout before a little league baseball game…the coach begins to read the lineup card, “leading off playing center field” and then you hear your name called.  You sprint out onto the field ready to give your all and represent your team, thankful that the head coach picked you and sent you.  God addresses these men as The Coach and immediately they present themselves to the God whom they love and follow.  God speaks and out onto the field they go, ready to represent their Coach by playing their position with all they have.

Nias,

I pray that God calls you and that you respond to His voice, ready to do whatever He calls you to do. I pray that He launches you into Kingdom labor that you have no hope to accomplish, save the grace, mercy and power of He who sends you.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

 

3. God calls Him by name.

Did you know that there are some 200 billion stars in our galaxy? And our galaxy is 1 of 100 Billion galaxies? That is more than my mind can even grasp. And check this out: Psalm 147:4 says, “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.”  God determines the exact number of stars in each galaxy and not only that, he names them! I share this because I am blown away with how big and ultimate God is.  The next thing I love about Ananias is that the same Ultimate God that created and named all the stars speaks to Ananias by name (Acts 9:10b), “The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’” There is something powerful to reading Holy Scripture and seeing God call people out by name.  We love that Ananias is one of those men!  This reminds me of a wonderful phrase that a friend and hero (Matty B) introduced to me, “God is Ultimate and Intimate.” He is Ultimate enough to create and name trillions and trillions of stars, yet intimate enough to knit Nias together in Rachel’s womb and number each of his hairs.  Psalm 139:13-14 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." Matthew 10:30 "But even the hairs of your head are all numbered." Who knew the stars in the sky and the hairs on your head had something in common, they are numbered by our Creator!

Nias,

I pray that you would know the glories of the Ultimate God that created everything, yet is the Intimate God who we pray calls you by name.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16)

9 Mediations on the Man We Named Our 1^st Born Son After

2. Ananias was a disciple.

Most people who know Acts chapter 9 are familiar with it for The Apostle Paul’s conversion.  Having already met (and being blinded by) Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul is waiting and fasting for 3 days. In verse 10 we meet Ananias for the first time. It reads, “Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias.” Most scholars believe he was one of the 72 disciples we read about in Luke 10. He spent time with Jesus and was sent on mission for Jesus.  I love this. He wasn’t some flashy religious leader, just an ordinary disciple of Jesus. Reminds me of Peter and John in Acts 4:12 before the Council, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Jesus uses common men because common men are blown away by who Jesus is. Impressive men are preoccupied with being impressive.

Nias,

I pray you would be a common man who gets blown away by who Jesus is and that people would see your boldness and conclude, 'you must have been with Jesus.'

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

1. Ananias: (Ἁνανίας) is the Greek form of Hananiah, which is Hebrew word meaning “Yaweh has dealt graciously” or “The Lord is full of grace.”

God’s grace to Rachel and I is overwhelming. From calling us to Himself, giving us wonderful parents, growing us through the ministry of Campus Outreach, to crossing our paths at East Lincoln High School some 8 years ago. Grace by definition is: the free unmerited favor of God. Rachel and I earned the wrath of almighty God by hating Him and loving darkness (John 3:16-21). By sheer grace we have received the favor and love of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (I Corinthians 15:3-10). God has given us the free gift of faith to trust in and follow Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). He has surrounded us by people and gifts that keep us clinging to the cross (Hebrews 12:1-2).  He gave us a wonderful daughter, Eden two years ago and now he has given us Nias. We are overwhelmed and can fully testify that the meaning of our son’s name is as true and trustworthy as the morning sunrise…Yaweh is full of grace and has dealt with us graciously. 

Nias,

I pray that The Father would deal graciously with you, draw you unto Himself through Christ very soon, that The Holy Spirit would dwell in you and that you would know the unending Grace of our Lord. I pray that you would become a man like Ananias of Damascus. I love you son!

 

Its a.....

BOY!

Ananias Clinton Darst

We really believe in naming our babies meaningful names.  This one was a big surprise for us.  One night we were reading Eden the story of Paul's conversion (Acts 9) from the Jesus Storybook Bible.  We ran across this character whom neither one of us had ever noticed before.  Clint joked as he had with many other crazy names, "This could be our son's name." I laughed it off asking, "what do you call him, An, Ana?" Clint studied up on Acts 9 and this mysterious character. He ended up doing all of his beach project leaders teaching from the example Ananias set for us.  Ananias heard from the Lord, questioned his ability to do what God was calling him to (restore the sight of a man who was killing or imprisoning every Christian he came in contact with!), trusted God's promises, and went to fulfill God's call on his life.  And then something very interesting happens, he virtually falls off the planet.  You never again hear of Ananias.  He holds a significant role in the life of the most influential Christian leader, outside of Christ, and then he disappears from the pages of the Bible.  We pray this for our son, that he would fulfill the call God has on his life, meet the needs of those whom God has called Him to minister to and then fade into the background as the Lord's will is finished.  We pray like Ananias He will be used by God to raise up men like the Apostle Paul...So how DO you abbreviate Ananias, what will we call him?..."NIAS"

Clinton is actually Clint's middle name.  It is a family tradition and this one makes at least the 5th straight generation with the first male having Clinton as his middle name.

So with great joy we welcome this child into our home! Please join with us in praying for his salvation!