Daily Devotion (July 25, 2024)
Acts 28:30–31 (NKJV)
30 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him,
31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
Acts begins with a few believers being commissioned to preach the Gospel of Christ. In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells His followers they were to be witnesses of Him throughout the world. They would not be witnesses in their own power but through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Acts ends not in Jerusalem but with the Gospel being carried throughout the world. The Apostle Paul went on many tours throughout the world witnessing to others. He was preaching, teaching and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus.
What could Paul have become if he had never accepted Christ. In the eyes of the world, he had power, prestige, and wealth. He was a very religious person. But he was fighting for the devil and against God. He was a religious person on the path to Hell and leading others with him.
The road to Damascus was not only a saving experience for Paul, but for a multitude of others who he encountered. Paul lost prestige in the eyes of the religious world, but he gained the love and respect of those he encountered who had accepted Christ.
The Gospel of Christ is carried around the world by faithful followers of Christ. It is also carried by each follower of Christ who is willing to let go of the things of this world and let Christ work in their lives.
It is not easy being a true follower of Christ. I am talking with someone now who loves the Lord but is oppressed by others because of his faith in Christ. Paul went from being the oppressor to being the oppressed. He was willing to die for his faith in Christ. The Christian faith is all about Christ and we must be willing to allow Him to be seen in us. We are as the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “ambassadors for Christ,”