TUESDAY - Devotional

READ: Acts 9:1-18

(Answer the question/s below in your app notes)

• What had been Saul’s sin and weakness? What do you think of the fact that God still wanted to use him?

One of the cringiest things in the human experience, in my opinion, is when professional athletes receive penalties for getting into screaming matches with their opponents. Every Sunday, when we’re watching the NFL, my husband knows that if a player gets a penalty for “unsportsmanlike conduct,” a lengthy rant is coming. After all, not flying off the handle is the easy part! I could never throw a ball fifty yards down a football field, but I definitely could control my temper so my team isn’t penalized!

Ahem, anyway. Acts 9 says that “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” I think of two football players when I read this text, helmets clashed against each other, yelling so intensely you can see the itty-bitty spit particles flying into the air. Breathing out murderous threats takes a lot of commitment and energy! And yet, this is the person God chose to use as one of the pillars of the Christian church.

God can truly use anyone. I should remember this when I’m watching football, and we all should remember it when we’re reading Acts 9. No one is out of the realm of possibility when it comes to the gospel. This is good news: that no matter how far we’ve fallen, there is always hope for redemption.