Acts 26:14–18

His will for our life  will not fail when we give imminence to Him. No purpose of God will be withheld.

His mercy extends to every person born. We can accept or reject His mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. But how can someone reject if he has never heard the message? Spread the Good News.

You plant the seed and Holy Spirit waters it.

Mercy (unmerited love) is the fuel (the fire) for transparency, as I no longer need to run from regret. I own my neurosis and my failings. They do not own me. From that place, healing and reconciliation is possible. Mercy frees our heart to love and to live. Never underestimate the power of kindness. From that place, we help create a kinder and gentler and inclusive world. Sabbath Moments

Acts 26:14–18

14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 ‘So I said, Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Like a stubborn animal attempting to fight the sticks used as prods, Paul cannot succeed in fighting against God. He articulates the idea that those who do not belong to Christ are in many ways influenced by evil and as such opposed to God’s purposes. Faithlife Bible.

A young ox, when it was first yoked, usually resented the burden and tried kicking its way out. If the ox was yoked to a single-handed plow, the plowman would hold a long staff with a sharpened end close to the heels of the ox. Every time the ox kicked, it struck the spike. If the ox was yoked to a wagon, a studded bar with wooden spikes served the same purpose. The point was that the ox had to learn submission to the yoke the hard way. Before his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road, Paul was resisting God in a similar manner. NKJ Bible.

We are made holy, and saved by faith in Christ; by which we rely upon Christ as the Lord our Righteousness, and give up ourselves to him as the Lord our Ruler; by this we receive the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and eternal life. The cross of Christ was a stumbling-block to the Jews, and they were in a rage at Paul’s preaching the fulfilling of the Old Testament predictions. Christ should be the first that should rise from the dead; the Head or principal One. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Acts 22:15 For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.