A man with the Hebrew name Saul entered the book of Acts as almost a bit player, holding other people’s coats. He quickly became prominent as a driven, deadly persecutor of early Christians. A stunning encounter with the risen Christ utterly changed his life. Before long, he began using his Roman name, Paul (cf. Acts 13:9). He remained passionate and driven, but now as a preacher arguing persuasively that Jesus was, in fact, the long-awaited Messiah.

• In Saul’s background, nearly every person he respected, from the high priest down, rejected Jesus and saw Christians as a threat to God’s truth. No wonder he set out, with great passion, to destroy a faith he saw as seriously wrong. Did your background and training make it easy or hard for you to believe in Jesus? How well are you able to understand and relate to people with backgrounds different from yours?
• Paul did not think his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus was “just a vision,” an illusory, inward incident. He believed he’d met the risen Christ just as “really” as any other apostle (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:5-9). At the end of her song “Redeemer,” Nicole C. Mullen said, “He lives (I spoke to Him this morning).” How easy or hard do you find it to believe Jesus is truly risen and alive? What evidence or experiences most strongly nudge you toward sharing Paul’s faith?