It’s time for Wednesday’s daily devotional. Outside of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul is a giant in the faith. In Christendom, he’s the bold preacher, teacher, and missionary who wrote most of the New Testament. Yet he identifies himself in humble terms. In today’s daily devotional, humility should be a character trait of those who carry the gospel.
Straightway He Preached Christ
Paul was a Pharisee who’d received official letters to arrest Jews who’d left Judaism. They were to be brought to trial and condemned for following Christ. While traveling to Damascus to do this, he saw a bright light, fell to the ground, and then met Jesus. Paul rose a changed man, and Acts 9:20 recounts, “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues.”
Paul forsook his pride as a self-righteous Pharisee who tormented Christ’s followers, accepted God’s call, and began doing what the Lord required of him. In your daily devotional, when God calls you to an assignment, leave your past behind and say yes, believing He will be with you, guiding you all the way.
God Qualifies You
When Paul began preaching, many were stunned that this man who’d been persecuting Christians was now spreading the gospel. Many were skeptical and doubted the authenticity of his ministry. Paul made an about-face, without considering how it would look or what others would say. He didn’t call a town meeting to explain his conversion; he didn’t tell them that Ananias had laid hands on him and he was now filled with the Spirit.
Paul just began doing what God called him to do. In this daily devotional, many will use worldly standards to determine your qualifications to minister God’s Word. They’ll check your background and credentials. However, it’s God who qualifies you and calls you to the ministry.
Paul Reveals Humility
In New Testament times, apostles were messengers and foundational builders of the church of Jesus Christ. The Greek word for apostle is “one who is sent” and refers to a person sent by God. Being commissioned by God to preach the gospel gave apostles authority as His messengers. Paul refers to himself as an apostle, confirming that God sent him.
In Romans 1:1, he writes, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.” Before identifying himself as an apostle, he first identifies himself as a servant. Unlike some ministers today, he doesn’t claim a calling to build his own platform; he shows Christ’s character through humility. To the Galatian church, he distinguishes his call, stating his apostleship is “not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father.”
Paul leaves no room for doubt that he is called or who called him. In today’s daily devotional, there’s a saying that some are called, some are sent, and some just went. 2 Peter 2:10 says to “make your calling and election sure.”
Don’t Cling to Your Past
In Wednesday’s daily devotional, when God called Paul, he wasn’t sitting around idle. He had a storied career as a Pharisee, trained by Gamaliel, one of the most notable scholars of his day. He was an expert in the law and multilingual. Yet he considered it all dung, enduring shipwrecks, beatings, prisons, perils by robbers and countrymen, weariness, pain, and other sufferings while staying committed to the gospel and the church’s care. In today’s daily devotional, like Paul, instead of clinging to your past, press forward, letting humility be the mark of your call.
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