ACTS of the Apostles, Part 2

Read Acts 26:12-18

Focus Verse: Acts 26:12-14

On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, "Saul, Saul, why do your persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

Paul never stopped telling his story! When I hear Paul's story, I think, "Why would he stop telling his story? His story is amazing!"

Yes. It was. But, what makes it amazing is that Jesus met him. He didn't deserve it. He wasn't looking for Jesus. He wasn't working for Jesus. Actually, he'd made a life out of working against Jesus. Still, Jesus met him. He was never the same again.

If you know Jesus, that is your story, too! Right? It's certainly mine. It continues to be my story each and every day. Jesus keeps meeting me in my work, in my relationships, even in my messes. And, once I've seen Him, I'm never the same again. That is a story worth telling, and our stories of changed lives change other lives.

I love the Passion Translation of verse 14, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are only hurting yourself when you resist your calling.

Paul had been resisting his calling, and he didn't even know it. Jesus told him to get up and listen to his destiny. In a moment, Saul's darkness was turned to light. His true destiny was revealed. He was meant to assist Jesus. With his story, many others would turn from the darkness to the light.

God, I feel like a broken record asking you again to please open our eyes. Cause us to see You, to really see You. Don't let us miss our calling. We were meant to live in fellowship with You. Our lives are meant to mirror Yours. Just like Adam and Eve in the Garden, though, we get sidetracked by distractions, judgments, anything that takes our gaze away from You. Lead us back to You and only You. We can't mirror You to the world so that they turn from darkness to light unless we let Your light take hold of us each and every day. We need You! Amen.