Day 38 | Paul

Read Acts 26:24-32; Romans 8:38-39

Paul was perhaps one of the most influential leaders of the early church. He was responsible for authoring 13 books of the New Testament and planting at least 14 churches. Before Paul met Jesus, he was a Pharisee and a notorious persecutor of Christians. After his dramatic conversion to Christ, Paul devoted his entire life to preaching the gospel and making disciples of Jesus across the known world.

Paul was convinced of the reality of the gospel. From the moment he was converted, Paul proclaimed Christ to anyone and everyone he met (see Philippians 1:13). Over the course of his life, he traveled extensively on missionary journeys, wrote exhaustive treatises on Christian doctrine, and devoted himself to discipling men and women in the faith. Paul was often imprisoned, beaten, shipwrecked, and lived under the constant threat of death for the sake of the name of Jesus. Yet, there was a steady, calculated tenacity that marked his life and ministry. Paul’s perseverance was grounded in a commitment to something he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt to be true.

As we study Paul’s life, we become aware of our need for a faith that is deeper than simply a surface-level admiration of the example of Jesus. We find that the only kind of faith that is able to truly persevere in the face of real suffering is a faith that is convinced of the reality of Jesus—who He is, what He’s done, and who we are invited to become because of His work for us on the cross. When we behold Jesus in His glory through encounters with Him in His Word and through His presence in prayer, we become convinced of the indescribable, unfathomable, never-ending love He has for us. We become convinced that nothing we will ever go through in this life will be able to separate us from that love. And we become convinced that the only response to that love that makes any sense at all is a life lived out of a daring, bold, tenacious, radically
obedient faith to His commands.

Pray for 10 minutes