December 13 - To Be Saved

Read: Acts 16:16-40

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31 ESV)

Salvation is a simple thing. But bad religion has sometimes confused the subject. Silly, incorrect, and dangerous requirements, prerequisites, and conditions have crept in to something that was always intended to be incredibly simple.

People worry about what prayer to pray, what lingo to use, what physical demonstrations are required in order to be saved. But all of that is nonsense. They are distractions.

When the Philippian jailer wanted to know how he could be saved, Paul told it to him short and straight. "Believe in The Lord Jesus." It isn't magic. It isn't even hard. It's a simple change in the posture of your heart. And it makes the most important difference you could ever experience.

December 11 - Approved Persecution

Acts 12:1-5

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. (Acts 12:1 ESV)

James was John's brother. He was one of the first disciples. He was also one of the first martyrs.

Herod arrested a few leaders from the young church. He saw how it pleased the jealous Jews and so he smelled blood in the water. He began a campaign of terror against the Christians, seeking to gain approval from the countrymen that had shunned his family's rule for so long.

It had little to do with beliefs. It wasn't about money, not for Herod. It was about popularity. It was about political power.

The wheels of opinion have long since shifted in America. Once secularist ideas have become commonly held world views. Things that shocked and stunned a few decades ago, are now embraced, promoted, and legitimized. As this trend continues there may come a day, some would argue that it is already here, when Christians are outright persecuted. It may happen simply so a politician can gain, or keep, the spotlight.

The possibility of persecution will not thwart the authentic followers of Jesus. It will instead galvanize the Bride of Christ to shine with the true love of Jesus. It will shine bright. It will draw people away from darkness and into the family of God.

December 9 - From Persecutor to Proclaimer

Read: Acts 9:20-25

And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:20 ESV)

The story of Saul of Tarsus is incredible. He first came onto the scene of scripture as a persecutor of Christ's first generation of followers. But after a roadside experience with the resurrected Jesus—Saul was irrevocably ruined as a Pharisee.

No longer could he stomach the jealous hatred that drove his order to dog the early church. He began immediately to demonstrate a powerful understanding for the scriptures from the Prophets and other Old Testament writings. He used his established position as a Pharisee to leverage opportunity to speak in the local synagogues, where he declared Jesus to be the Son of God.

Saul the persecutor became Paul the Apostle. His conversion is even cited as one of the largely held evidences supporting the historical truth of the resurrection of Jesus. He would go on to write the majority of the New Testament, and his disciple Luke would write most of the rest. Not everyone makes the impact in life that he made, but when Jesus saves us we do change.

December 8 - Saul & Jesus

Read: Acts 9:1-19

And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4 ESV)

Saul was on his way to arrest Christians in Damascus. He was hoping to stop the followers of Jesus from spreading their message beyond Jerusalem. But everything changed for him when Jesus intervened.

A blinding light stopped him in tracks. And Jesus Christ spoke to the young Pharisee, charging him with carrying on the very same message he had set out to destroy. Saul was blinded by the light, but carried out the instructions of The Lord and was healed.

Saul's conversion story is incredible. He had an amazing encounter with Jesus—someone whom Saul believed to be dead. But the risen Christ appeared to Saul on the road. And though his journey took him to the same destination his course was forever changed the day that Saul encountered the powerful truth of Jesus.