Daily Grace
Repentance Leads to Life
“When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, ‘So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life’ ” (Acts 11:18). We might think of repentance as an unending burden of sorrow. When I was younger, I pictured a...
Freedom from Prejudice
“While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them’ ” (Acts 10:19-20). This was a turning point in the history of the...
We Need Each Other
“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:6). Paul’s conversion is a remarkable story in every way. He is a great illustration of Jesus’ power to change a person completely. Saul, the hate-filled persecutor of believers, became...
Misguided Zeal
“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them...
The Value of One Person
“This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life...
Joy in the City
“When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:6-8). When the...
Remarkable Conversion
“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 8:3). With this passage in Acts 8 we are introduced to Saul who would be named Paul later. From being the foremost persecutor of the...
The Law Prepares Us for Jesus
“Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it” (Acts...
We Are God’s Temple
“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these...