Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Three days after wanting to kill the disciples of Jesus Christ, Paul is a completely different man. Sure, he has a lot to learn, and almost nobody trusts him yet. When he tries to meet with other believers they suspect he’s just pretending so he can gather names and come back later with the police. But he is different. Totally different. And for the next three decades he will live a life that is completely sold out to Jesus.
As we marvel at the transformation of this man we need to ask ourselves what it was that changed him. Was what happened a special miracle because Jesus knew Paul would make a great apostle, or is this level of profound change available to anyone? Was he a unique work of God or just the most prominent example of someone whose life Jesus turned around?
Before we investigate what changed Paul, let’s notice what didn’t. No one out-debated this brilliant Pharisee or theologically convinced him that Isaiah 53 speaks of a suffering Messiah. He didn’t wake up one morning and decide he needed to be a nicer, friendlier person, and chart a self-improvement program. What changed him was he met the resurrected Jesus Christ. He didn’t gradually get better and then decide to investigate the truth about this Jesus of Nazareth. Walking toward Damascus he was worse than ever. Luke uses wording here that implies that he had, by this point in time, fallen under demonic influence and was functioning at an unnatural level of anger. He was totally committed to killing all of Jesus’ followers, and his ultimate goal was to kill Jesus Himself…again.
43 - The Price of Priesthood
42 - The Ark of the Covenant
41 - The Tabernacle of God
40 - The Community of the Covenant
39 - More of God
38 - The Blood of the Covenant
37 - The Joy of Contentment
36 - The Power of Truth
35 - The Price of Prosperity
34 - The Marriage Covenant
33 - Attitudes That Kill
32 - Honoring Parents
31 - The Sabbath Principle
30 - Using God’s Name
29 - No Other Gods
28 - The Law of Moses
27 - The Holiness of God
26 - The Jethro Principle
25 - Never Fight Alone
24 - Living Water
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Life After Ministry
Cast The Word
Let Me Be Frank | Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Podcast | Diocese of Bridgeport, CT
The Bible Recap
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)