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"As also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished."
(Acts 22:5)
This week, we are focusing on the power of a testimony. Every Christian has a testimony, an account of God's saving his or her soul. If you do not have a story of salvation, then you have not yet met the Lord and been born again. If you are a Christian, even if you may not be able to remember all the details or the exact day of your conversion, you should be able to share at least a little of what your life was like before you met the Lord, the focus of this week's devotions thus far.
My life before I met Christ was one marked by religion. I was raised in and out of church and knew about Jesus. My mom saw to it that her four sons were in church. After my parents divorced, we did not attend church as frequently. While growing up, I mostly attended church when staying with my dad during the summer months. When I went to college, I felt that I should go and study religion and be a pastor. While in college, I was asked about my relationship with the Lord. I always brushed it off because I felt that I was a Christian. I had gone to church and even been baptized at a very early age. But I did not have peace in my soul. I had doubts and fears. I can sympathize with people today who thought they had been converted at an early age only to find out later they really had not. But God is so kind and patient toward us. He brought people in my life who loved me enough to confront me, and finally I surrendered my life to Jesus while a sophomore at the University of Mobile. Praise God for His grace that pursued me.
Paul tells his hearers in Acts 22:5 that the Jewish high priest and the Sanhedrin could testify to the truthfulness of his statements. He had gone on a mission north to Damascus to arrest, extradite, and imprison followers of Jesus Christ.
These were Paul's BC days. He says in Galatians 1:13, "For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it." I believe he refers to himself as the chief of sinners in part because of the rebellious life he lived before he met Christ. 1 Timothy 1:15 says, "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."
If you know Christ, you too have BC days (your life before Christ changed you). For some, those days and your conversion experience were more dramatic than others. Some were converted as children and do not have a testimony like Paul's, and if that is you, you should be thankful to God for parents or grandparents who loved you enough to share Christ with you and introduce you to Him at an early age. If you didn't have to hit rock bottom before giving your life to Christ, then hallelujah! That too is a wonderful testimony of God's goodness and grace!
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