What We Are
And Saul approved of their killing him.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Acts 8:1–3
How do you feel about your past? I can’t help but have a lot of regrets. Things I wish I had done differently because they caused me pain or others pain or just were a waste of time. The older you get, the more regrets I think.
Paul must have had some regrets. Imagine being responsible for the persecution, the imprisonment and maybe even the death of men and women because they believed in Jesus. Only to realise later that they were right and you were wrong.
It’s a heavy burden to bear. And he didn’t seek to justify his actions. In 1 Timothy he calls himself the chief of sinners. No, instead, in 1 Corinthians 15, he says something profound.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
I’ve long taken solace in these words. We can’t change our past. But by the grace of God, he has saved us as we are. Not only our sins forgiven, but our past, our history is all part of his plan. It doesn’t excuse my sin, but it does help us move forward. The same grace that saves us, strengthens us to do God’s work.
Today:
Pray:
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Acts 8:1–3
How do you feel about your past? I can’t help but have a lot of regrets. Things I wish I had done differently because they caused me pain or others pain or just were a waste of time. The older you get, the more regrets I think.
Paul must have had some regrets. Imagine being responsible for the persecution, the imprisonment and maybe even the death of men and women because they believed in Jesus. Only to realise later that they were right and you were wrong.
It’s a heavy burden to bear. And he didn’t seek to justify his actions. In 1 Timothy he calls himself the chief of sinners. No, instead, in 1 Corinthians 15, he says something profound.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
I’ve long taken solace in these words. We can’t change our past. But by the grace of God, he has saved us as we are. Not only our sins forgiven, but our past, our history is all part of his plan. It doesn’t excuse my sin, but it does help us move forward. The same grace that saves us, strengthens us to do God’s work.
Today:
- Reflect on your past, what do you regret?
- Bring those regrets to God and ask him for forgiveness and peace.
- How have some of your mistakes shaped you in a helpful way?
Pray:
- Praise the Father for his glorious grace.
- Give thanks for Jesus that he saved us in spite of our sins.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others move forward in Christ’s forgiveness.
Posted in Acts
No Comments