Barnabas to the Rescue
Read: Acts 9:26-31 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. (v. 27) I once knew someone whose earlier days were full of embarrassing drunken displays and obscenities. Then one day I heard that this man had become a pastor. My response was disbelief. Yet, according to reliable reports, he is now serving […]
Not an Easy Road
Read: Acts 9:23-25 But his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. (v. 25) Saul learned very quickly that his life and mission as a Christian would not be an easy road. Here he had barely started following Jesus and he narrowly […]
What a Change!
Read: Acts 9:19-22; Galatians 1:15-24 For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed. (vv. 19-21) I remember singing an old gospel hymn in my younger days that goes like this: “What […]
A Disciple Named Ananias
Read: Acts 9:10-18 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul . . . ” (v. 17) One commentator calls Ananias “one of the forgotten heroes of the Christian church” (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles). Indeed he is! The fact that he referred to […]
The Damascus Road
Read: Acts 9:1-9 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (v. 5) Saul was not content to imprison the Jewish followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. He “went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he […]
Persecutor of Christians
Read: Acts 8:1-4 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. (v. 3) I am a lifelong Christian, and I have lived a quiet, peaceful life. I haven’t experienced persecution, and I have experienced freedom and justice in my country, but […]
May Prayer Guide 2021
BHUTAN –– Give thanks with us that through virtual Bible studies and outreach on Facebook, 11 Bhutanese individuals have given their lives to Christ, and 8 more have requested the next step of baptism. Please continue to pray for more opportunities to return to in-person sharing of the gospel, since the Internet is quite expensive […]
A Young Man Named Saul
Read: Acts 7:54–8:1 And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. (v. 58) We usually refer to him as Paul, but that was not his name originally. His given Hebrew name was Saul. He was Saul of Tarsus, a well-educated Judaic Pharisee. He was steeped in the […]
Pressing on Toward the Goal
Read: Philippians 3:12-16 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (v. 14) My lungs burned. My temples were pounding. My muscles ached. Everything within me wanted to quit. I had only two miles to go before I would finish my first 25K race. This […]