Devotionals for March 7, 2024
Join us for Theology Thursday if you're available today at noon! Bring your questions, your Bible, and your lunch when you come. No rsvp needed!
READ
Acts 9:3-5
As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
REFLECT
Imagine someone who spent his life persecuting those who declare that they are a Christ follower. Striving to make them comply with the religious box of that day. Doing whatever it took to eliminate them one by one. Then somewhere on the journey, about to launch the greatest persecution strategy ever, God shows up and flips the script. This man known as Saul, turned Paul.
God gave him a new name. He gave him a new mission. He used Paul in a strategic way to expand the reach of the Gospel and proclaim the freedom that Jesus alone offers. Encouraging believers for countless generations and inspiring many to walk in the fullness that Jesus alone offers. There is truly nothing in your past, that could keep God from using you for His purpose. You are His! He loves you. He sees you. And He will use every place you’ve been like a megaphone to present His power to one who has yet to experience it.
God gave him a new name. He gave him a new mission. He used Paul in a strategic way to expand the reach of the Gospel and proclaim the freedom that Jesus alone offers. Encouraging believers for countless generations and inspiring many to walk in the fullness that Jesus alone offers. There is truly nothing in your past, that could keep God from using you for His purpose. You are His! He loves you. He sees you. And He will use every place you’ve been like a megaphone to present His power to one who has yet to experience it.
APPLY
Q: How can you relate to Paul and the script that was flipped in his life?
Q: Where have you let shame cast a shadow in your life and how can you embrace the truth of God’s love for you this week?
Q: Who can you share your testimony with this week and empower them to see the freedom that Jesus alone offers?
Q: Where have you let shame cast a shadow in your life and how can you embrace the truth of God’s love for you this week?
Q: Who can you share your testimony with this week and empower them to see the freedom that Jesus alone offers?
SING
PRAY
"Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us."
Lord, please forgive me for the times I’ve let my past pull me back and keep me from being used fully for Your purpose. Please help me break free from the box of expectations I have made for myself, knowing that You have a bigger plan for my life.
Lord, please forgive me for the times I’ve let my past pull me back and keep me from being used fully for Your purpose. Please help me break free from the box of expectations I have made for myself, knowing that You have a bigger plan for my life.