Discovery Journal

Mike A. - February 19, 2011

Scripture:

Acts 26:10-16 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.’ 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.

Observation:

Paul is telling the king (a non-Christian) what his life was like before God, and how God transformed him. At the same time as he is trying to prove his accusers are not telling the truth, he is trying to convert the king. Paul didn't need to fluff anything, just tell what God had done for his life.

Application:

I may not have accusers against me, but I am faced with unbelievers. Paul has proved to me that I don't have to be an eloquent speaker. Just tell what God has done for me. If I had been talked to with big words and being technical about the Bible and what God's laws are, I probably wouldn't have turned to God when I did.

Prayer:

Lord, I pray for simplicity in speech, honesty in my words, and conviction in my voice. Help me not to be shy and turn away from the person that needs to hear about You, Lord. Thank You, Jesus, Amen.