READING:
One-year plan: 2 Chronicles 35-36, Ezra 1, Acts 9:26-10:16
Two-year plan: Joshua 7:1-8:29, Luke 7:1-17
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It must have been quite a start to his Christian journey. The apostle Paul met Jesus in a dramatic encounter on the road to Damascus, and his life was never the same. That’s not to say, though, that the journey was easy—even from the beginning. We know that Paul preached the Word in Damascus in a bold way (so powerful, in fact, that Barnabas used Paul’s conversion and his gospel proclamation in Damascus to convince the Jerusalem believers that Paul had truly been converted). Even then, though, Paul faced Jews who sought to kill him, and only a helping hand from other believers helped him escape the city.
Later, Paul faced opposition from two directions: from the believers in Jerusalem who didn’t trust his conversion, and from the Hellenistic Jews who tried to kill him. It was, in fact, through the intervention of Barnabas that the believers ultimately welcomed Paul. At the same time, those who had successfully killed Stephen sought to do the same with Paul. Nevertheless, Paul preached the gospel boldly in Jerusalem until the opposition drove him out of the city (again with the aid of other believers).
What catches my attention today is the supporting hand of other brothers and sisters in Christ for Paul. From Barnabas to unnamed believers in Damascus and Jerusalem who help Paul escape his opponents, the apostle apparently quickly learned how much other believers matter in our walk with the Lord. We, too, need to remember that truth. We need one another.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Do you take other believers for granted?
DAILY PRAYER: “Father, I thank You today for my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
MONDAY’S READINGS:
One-year plan: Ezra 2-5, Acts 10:17-48
Two-year plan: Joshua 8:30-9:27, Luke 7:18-30
