“…to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26:18)
One of the primary goals of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to open your eyes to the darkness. To pretend there is no evil in the world (or at least no evil in yourself) is the sort of self-deception that Satan revels in. If we do not recognize wickedness, we cannot flee from it. Tyranny cannot be overthrown without recognition of its evil dominion.
Satan owns us as long as we give him the power to shackle us to our lusts, our selfishness, and our hunger for power and pride. As long as we refuse to admit the problem, he happily leads us by the leash of our ignorance. The gospel reveals the darkness in us, so it might be repelled.
When we open our eyes to our sin, we can flee from it and seek the forgiveness of the Savior.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
Today’s Reading: Acts 26:12-21
Questions to ask:
- How does this show the continuation of Jesus’ work now going on in the church?
- How is the gospel, Paul’s preaching, and/or Paul’s defense received?
- What is the Holy Spirit doing in this text?
- What in our reading shows how Paul handled adversity and difficulty?
This year, #Biblebites are following the life and writings of Paul. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2023-vision