Daily Devotions
July 21st, 2015 by Pastor SolleyActs 9:1-5 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
As Saul persecuted the church the Lord worked in a way that turned his life completely around as that man would become the Apostle Paul, perhaps the greatest of the apostles and certainly the greatest preacher of the gospel of his time. What was the turning point in that man’s life? We find right here is Acts 9 when he heard the voice of God speaking to him and Saul realized it was hard for him to kick against the pricks. (Verse 5) Pricks were long poles sharpened to a point at one end. They would attach those poles to the underside of a cart an ox would pull or a tem of oxen. When the animal tried to kick the cart to be free of it they would kick the prick causing pain and of they continued harm to the animal. Needless to say the pricks cured the animal; of kicking against the cart. Today we find so many who are like Saul was, kicking against the pricks, causing harm to self in a life lived without Christ. Saul had everything one could want at that time, freedom, power, stature and money. Yet he was living a miserable life, a life without Christ and a life that would end with eternity in hell. The harder he works against the church the more he was kicking against the pricks and the more miserable he became. Think about the pricks God has placed in your life today, how we kick against them, and what needs to be done. More tomorrow.