Check out all the previous Acts readings here.
Acts Reading Plan | Week 17 | Day 4
Prayer
Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times.
Psalm 119:46-47 says, “I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them.” Thank God for His word today. That he opened your eyes to the beauty of it and ask Him to continue to teach you through it.
Bible Reading: Acts 26:9-23
Read these verses three times slowly.
“I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.
“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, 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 you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them 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.’
“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
Reflection & Questions
We continue today to read of Paul’s hearing with King Agrippa, as Paul shares the story of his conversion. It is amazing that Paul gets this kind of opportunity. This is not unique to Paul though, throughout the centuries God has raised up men and women who have been able to speak the truth of Jesus to power. For example, in his autobiography, Billy Graham, tells of the many times he got to share the gospel with presidents of countries around the world, even brutal dictators. Paul, Billy, and the countless others knew that these opportunities were too precious to be wasted; they were God-given in order that they could present the gospel.
We’ve read in Acts of Paul’s conversion a few times, but in this recounting Paul gives some extra details. Notably, the clarity of the mission that Jesus gives Paul. Jesus tells Paul, “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them 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.’”
That mission is also our mission. As we reach out to our ONEs we know God has put them in our life for a reason. We are praying, inviting, and sharing that their eyes would be opened. That they would turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God, and that they would receive salvation. We aren’t playing games. This is a serious joy-filled mission.
- Are you on mission to reach your ONE? Why or why not?
- What is the next step you can take in reaching your ONE?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
