Have you ever told another person the details of when you turned your life over to Christ? If so, you must have shared how Jesus changed and softened your heart, how you began to take in information and make wise decisions, as well as how the Holy Spirit called you to live and love from the inside out! When Jesus comes to live in our spirits, we are never the same! When Truth comes to live in us for the first time, it is a radical life-changing moment that fills us with the glorious energy of heaven and the hope of eternity while living on earth.
In our passage today, the Apostle Paul is on trial and he asks to represent himself. What does he say in his defense? He shares his conversion story with the King. Paul shares how Jesus changed his whole mind-set and direction for his life. Paul had to submit, because everything he was doing was persecuting God’s people while all the time hurting himself and his relationship with God. Paul’s priorities, passion for God, and preference for people was flipped by the Lord and now Paul was a man on a new mission to share the Gospel message with the Gentiles.
We must thank God every day for his glorious salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Life is new and fresh each day. Thank you, Jesus!
Acts 26:1-18 NLT
1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”
So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 “The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee. 6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
9 “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 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. 11 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.
12 “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 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. 14 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.’ [only hurting yourself]
15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘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. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 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.’
Prayer: Lord, thank you for reminding us how you love everyone; no favoritism is found in you. Your love is all-encompassing and amazing to behold. It is your love that changes us in radical ways. We don’t see things the same, anymore. We want you…more of you…each day. Every time we reach out for you, there you are waiting to be with us. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.