There were no specific verses that stood out to me today, but the overall story reminded me of something important. When Paul was standing before the Jews, he had their attention because he was able to tell them the story of how he was saved. It is a compelling story that they could relate to as Jews. However, Paul took it a step further and said God called him to reach out to the Gentiles, which exposed their pride, and caused their anger to flare. The thing that stood out to me is how easy it is to tell the loving and easy part of the gospel, but God has called us to be bold. It’s not always easy to tell someone that their life will end in death if they don’t accept God’s mercy and grace, because they have to admit they actually need it. We have to be bold to share the whole gospel with everyone because this is what God has called us to do.

In a relationship, you either tend to be aligned in your values and moral, or you at least respect them. In our relationship with God, we must be aligned with Him when it comes to how we feel about evil. In Psalm 98:10 it says, Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. If we love God, then we will hate evil; even, and especially, the evil that exists in us. We all strive for a righteous and pure heart, but we are imperfect beings who need God’s grace to make us righteous. So, when our imperfection appears in our lives, we should feel pain when from its existence because of how far we are from the righteousness of God. Praise God for His mercy and grace in forgiving us and allowing us to be pure in His sight.