Convinced

Daily Reading: Acts 28

Scripture Focus: Some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. (Acts 28.24)

Devotional Thought: In 2016, some were convinced that President Trump obstructed justice. Others said, "No way!" No matter what the evidence, the membership in either camp did not seem to change. The same was true about Hillary Clinton. If you liked Hillary, she didn't do anything wrong with the private server. If you didn't like her, she deserved to be in jail. The lines in our political world are drawn sharply, aren't they? People make up their minds about a person depending on whether there is an (R) or a (D) after their name. People are in one camp or the other.

When Paul preached Jesus in Rome, "Some were convinced... but others disbelieved." Paul preached the same thing to both the believers and the unbelievers. Seeing the same evidence, they reached vastly different conclusions. They remained sharply divided.

The same is true today. Some will be convinced while others will not believe. Ralph Earle wrote this: "To one or the other of these two classes we each belong. The same fire melts wax and hardens clay; the same light is a joy to sound eyes and agony to diseased ones; the same word is a savor of life unto life and a savor of death unto death; the same Christ is set for the fall and for the rising of men, and is to some the sure foundation on which they build secure, and to some the stone on which, stumbling they are broken, and which, falling on them, grinds them to powder." (BBC, 591)

Are you convinced by Jesus?

Prayer: Lord, open my eyes and show me your truth. Help me to see Jesus and to believe on him for eternal life. Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. 3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah 4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I consider the days of old, the years long ago. 6 I said, "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search: 7 "Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? 8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Selah (Psalms 77:1-9)