Monday Reading: Acts 26:9-11
Key Verse: Acts 26:9
9 I truly thought within myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth,
Devotion:
Do you know some ‘Sauls’? Do you know someone who has just got to put down Christians whenever they can? How do you treat them? So many times we like to think that we are supportive and loving Christians except when it comes to those who persecute you! We like to put on a friendly face but woe betides anyone who dares to put us down or correct us! When Paul looked back on his life when people knew him as Saul, he did not have fond memories because of all the things that he had done wrong against Christians and against anyone who dared to say that Jesus was the Son of God!
Paul led a life where he was one of the central figures who worked against Christians. He was well known for what he did because of the strength and severity through which he carried out his task in hand. He was the one working against God at every opportunity that he had, yet God was the one who showed him love! God was the one who held out His hand to Saul to try and encourage him to see the truth. Not a very difficult thing to do when you are God but a very necessary thing to do.
We need to take a leaf out of His book and take notice of His way of working things out. When people come up against us we go on the offensive so that we can try to get the upper hand again. God always has the upper hand so simply showing love where it is most needed is the way forward. We have God’s Word. It is sharper than any two-edged sword so we should have no difficulty in using it to encourage others back to the truth. The problem is that we do not use it often enough. God’s very presence was enough to convert many we read about in our bibles, but God’s Word was also enough to beat back the king of sin, Satan himself! If Jesus was willing to use God’s Word in His war against Satan, then we should not think twice about using it in our war against the people that seek to persecute us!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like picking fights?
Do you show others God’s true love?
