Daily Devotionals

Read Acts 9:20-25

PAUL

The transformation is stunning. Saul, no doubt with bloodstains still on his garment from Christians he had tortured, now stood with arms outstretched, announcing, "I'm here to testify to you that Jesus is the Messiah, God's Son." And the people who heard it were amazed. The Greek text uses the term from which we get the word ecstatic. They responded with nothing short of ecstatic astonishment at the swift reversal of Saul's life.

Read Acts 9:10-21

PAUL

Read Acts 9:10-19

PAUL

Regardless of what you have done, no one is beyond hope. That's the great hope of the Christian message. No amount or depth of sin in your past can trump the grace of God. If you question that, remember Saul, the brash Pharisee of Tarsus. When the Lord saved him, He didn't put him on probation. The other disciples did that. No, God gave Saul a new name and, in the process, made him a new creation. That's what makes grace so amazing!

Read Acts 9:10-16

PAUL

Read Acts 9:5-9; Acts 26:12-15

PAUL

God goaded and prodded the stubborn pride of Saul — that Pharisaic ox. Day after day, he kicked against those goads, until finally, he got the message. There would be no more running. No more hiding. The fight was over. As always, God won.

C.S. Lewis likened God's conquering work of Saul's rebel will to a divine chess player: systematically, patiently maneuvering his opponent into a corner until finally, he concedes. "Checkmate."

Read Acts 9:5-9; Acts 26:12-15

PAUL

Apparently, "to kick against the goads" was a common expression found in both Greek and Latin literature — arural image, which rose from the practice of farmers goading their oxen in the fields. Though unfamiliar to us, everyone in that day understood its meaning.

Read Acts 9:1-4

PAUL

Read Acts 9:1-4

PAUL

For more than three decades, Saul controlled his own life. His record in Judaism ranked second to none. On his way to make an even greater name for himself, the laser of God's presence stopped him in his tracks, striking him blind. Like that group of shepherds faithfully watching their sheep years earlier on another significant night outside Jerusalem, Saul and his companions fell to the ground, stunned.

Read Acts 9:1-4

PAUL

Read Acts 5:33-38

PAUL

William Barclay calls Gamaliel an "unexpected ally." In the midst of flaring tempers and irrational thinking, this wise, seasoned teacher calmly rose to his feet and warned, "Take care here. Don't rush to judgment." In his words: "Stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God (Acts 5:38-39)."