Acts 9:19-21 NLT
Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!” All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” they asked. “And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?”
Saul ”immediately began preaching about Jesus.”
We are also called to witness to those around us immediately after we are called to Jesus.
Our message is simple, ”I realized I was a sinner, the life I was living did not line up with God’s holy standard, and I was trapped in sin. I agreed that my sin was terrible, and I needed a Savior, and I was incapable of doing this on my own.”
Romans 3:23 NLT
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
But through God’s grace, He sent His Son to die for my sins on the cross, He died and was buried, and after three days, He rose from the dead. Jesus Christ was the only person capable of taking on the sins of the world, He was a man, but He was also God.
John 3:16 NLT
”For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
I called on Him to come into my life, and I now have the Holy Spirit living in my heart, changing the way I look at the world around me. He has removed all of my sins. And I now dedicate my life to His mission.
Romans 10:13 NLT
For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”
”I was lost, but now I’m found.”
When this happens, we should have a zeal to share this message and grow closer to Jesus, and this should be an unbridled passion.
Accompanied by a desire to study and meditate on God’s Word, letting these words dwell richly in our minds and having a heart that is open to the uncomfortable promptings of the Spirit.
Joshua 1:7-9 NLT
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Every step forward in faith will require us to be bolder in faith; we have to come to the end of ourselves, and God will show up!
2 Peter 1:3-9 NLT
By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
I love Saul’s story because he had a head knowledge of the Word of God. He knew every word of the Old Testament; he memorized it through his studies. He was called ”Hebrew of Hebrews.” He may have been one of the most devout followers of the law. But He was missing that one thing, and Jesus found him on the road to Damascus. And radically changed his life forever.
I’m guessing that the minute Saul’s eyes were open, he could have rattled off every reference to Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
Saul was tasked to influence both those who were knowledgeable of the scriptures and those who weren’t.
We may not have the vast knowledge of Scripture that Saul had, but we have enough to start.
We have a life that was one way, and now we are changed; no one can argue with that unless our lives are not changing, and we need to bring that before the only One capable of changing that, Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, thank You for choosing me. I realize that You didn’t choose me because of my merits but only because of Your grace and mercy. And for that, I am grateful because I don’t deserve You.
Help me keep You first and foremost in my mind, heart, and actions.
Help me to be a witness to the power. You have to change lives, being a humble example of the grace, mercy, and patience You have shown me.
I thank You in the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏🏻❤️
