Focus

Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for a peace at this time.

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Read

Acts 26:1-18 (NRSV)

Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:

“I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.

“All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

“Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

“With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ’Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.’ I asked, ’Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ’I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

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Reflect

Have you ever felt that your past was defining who you are in the present? As the above scripture relating Paul’s experience tell us, God sees possibilities in us that no one else can see. Paul’s life was dramatically changed on the road to Damascus. If Paul can move on from his past through his faith in Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear from our own past when we take on the name of Christ.

Once I was called to baptize a man who was dying. He had come to church for a long time and believed in Christ as his Savior. What he had a hard time believing was that he was “good enough” to be baptized. He told me he had been a wicked man. I told him that was all in his past, he had left his evil life a long time ago. I explained to him that God does not remember our past sins when we take on the name of Christ. He cried like a baby when he was assured of how much God loved him and did not hold the past against him.

God uses the most unlikely people. Given Paul’s persecution of the early church, it seems improbable that Paul would have become the greatest missionary of all time. What is holding you back from fully trusting in God’s grace and forgiveness?

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Pray

Sovereign God, thank you for your gift of Jesus Christ, who has reconciled us to you through his blood. Thank you for your forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Amen.

Go with God.