Devo Acts 22

Chapter 22
1”Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” 2When they heard him speak
to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: 3”I am a Jew, born
in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly
trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you
are today. 4I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both
men and women and throwing them into prison, 5as also the high priest and all
the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in
Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be
punished. 6”About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from
heaven flashed around me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul!
Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 8” ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘I am Jesus of
Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9My companions saw the light,
but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 10”’What
shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “’Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There
you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’

Meditation:
1. Paul’s faith began in an amazing way on the road to Damascus. He was bold
to share his story and ultimately The Story, the one of God and man. This
passage gives us a thorough yet succinct explanation of the person Paul was
before he met Christ, how he met Christ, and the person he became after he
met Christ.
2. Reflect on my story –Who was I before Christ? What was meeting Christ
like? In what ways is my life different now as a result of meeting him? Are
other people different today because of my interaction with Jesus?
3. Think about how I might describe my life-altering encounter with the Living
God and my faith journey. Now write my story of faith in just two or three
paragraphs. Finally, ask someone to help me hone it to include the most
appropriate details.
4. Pray that God will provide me an opportunity to present my story of God and
me with another person in the coming week. When I sense the open door
plainly before me, take the risk and share the stories.