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Daily Devotions

Ephesians

Ephesians 
Day 
Day 1

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God."

Text: Ephesians 1:1

SAUL- THE DREADED PERSECUTOR OF CHRISTIANS

The historian Luke once described the infamous persecutor of the Church with these words.

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church,
entering every house, and dragging off men and women,
committing them to prison.

ACTS 8:3

In a candid confession of his terrible past before King Agrippa, Paul did not spare himself when he described how he once hated the Christians.

“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things
contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints
I shut up in prison, having received authority
from the chief priests;
and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them
to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them,
I persecuted them even to foreign cities.”

ACTS 26:9-11

FROM A PERSECUTOR TO A PREACHER

What a transformation must have taken place for a persecutor to become a preacher of the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth! How may we understand this dramatic and miraculous turn around? In a personal letter to his young protégé, Timothy, he shared this vital reflection.

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me,
because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor,
and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it
ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly
abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason
I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ
might show all longsuffering,
as a pattern to those who are going to believe on
Him for everlasting life.

1 TIMOTHY 1:12-16

FROM SAUL TO PAUL- A GLORIOUS PATTERN

One of the reasons why Paul kept mentioning his apostleship in his epistles was this great thought from the Lord. The transformation of his life was meant to show to all potential believers the mercy, grace and longsuffering of Jesus Christ!

AN APOSTLE OF GREAT HOPE

Too many have lived on the edges of the dark land of despair! But there is no need to lose all hope! The work of transforming Paul’s life is something that Jesus could do in anyone who truly believes in Him- firstly for salvation, and secondly for transformation!