Sunday, December 1: Bound by the Spirit

Acts 25:1–27

Every person who wonders about the truth of the Christian faith should answer this question. What was it that transformed a hot-headed, self-righteous, law-keeping, Christian-killing Pharisee named Saul, into a gracious, unselfish, Christian missionary and servant of Christ named the Apostle Paul?

What took place to make that happen? The short answer starts with an event recorded in Acts 9. On the road to Damascus, Paul had an encounter with the resurrected Savior that radically altered his life – forever.

It’s important to understand, however, that Paul’s spiritual epiphany in a flash of light is not the whole story. In other words, when Paul discovered, to his utter shock and initial dismay, that Jesus was alive, that was only the beginning.

On the day he met Jesus he received a new life, a new heart, a new purpose and a fresh start but he also received a new Master. He had been a slave to religion, but he became a servant of Christ and Jesus went to work to change him from what he was, to what he became.

In Acts 25, Jesus is at work in the life of Paul. It doesn’t seem like it at first because Paul is facing four horrific trials, any one of which would be bad enough, but he goes through all four at once. He’s learned over time, however, that God will use these circumstances in his life to grow his faith and become more like Jesus. See you on Sunday.