Today’s chapter is Acts 22

Tom writes:

Paul tells people that God did something to him. Isn’t that shocking? In our worldview we tend to lean towards materialist explanations for everything; my friend invited me to this and I liked it and so… I saw this talk and it meant something to me… I had a rough time and so I went back to my faith. All of those versions of our stories are true from one perspective but Paul speaks about the other side of the coin; God invaded my life. God acted. God did something to me. I am what I am not because of a logical chain of events on my part but because an impossibility occurred - Jesus came and changed me. The story is one of an active God, moving in love and us getting swept up into his extravagant plans. Paul told that story over and over again as the story of his life. I wonder if you could tell your faith story that way?

You may not have a dramatic conversion story quite like Paul’s but, if you look for you, I suspect you could tell how God took initiative and invaded your world. I wonder if you can see how the Holy Spirit has changed you and made you part of God’s great redemption of the world. I wonder if you have developed sentences and phrases that sum up what God did, why he did it and how He has changed your world? I guarantee that the story is there if you look for it. I guarantee that God wants to help you identify it and write it. It will be a story that speaks of an existence beyond what we can see… it will be a story that majors not on your decisions and actions but on God’s decisions and actions, on God’s great love and your actions in response. You knowing this story will be important for you. It will honour what God has done in your life and it will strengthen your trust in him. This story will also be important for those around you - it will help them see God as He is and may even give them the desire to have God do the same for them. It is my prayer that you learn to tell your story and that God will use it to bring great glory to his name.

Question for reflection

Can you tell your story of faith in a way that majors on what God has done and why he has done it?

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Acts 22 - Monday 4th March