Galatians 1:13-16 - God, who set me apart from birth, called me by His grace

For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man,

As Paul is recounting his past as a Christian bounty hunter he turns everything on its head by verse 15. He talks of the God who set him apart from his birth! How can this be? Paul is looking at his history now from a new lens: the power of the cross. The shame of his past now becomes the qualifier for his future.

The gospel gives us a new perspective on our yesterdays, which creates the roadmap for our tomorrows.

Today's commentary by: Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, GraceNYC.org

What do you think? Discussion at: http://facebook.com/DailyBibleVerse

Jonah 3:10 - When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways...

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Jonah is a fascinating story of redemption. The most interesting thing to me is that the city of Nineveh repents, but Jonah does not! "But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry." (Jonah 4:1)

Nineveh was known as a place of unspeakable darkness. Yet the king sees his wicked ways and God stays his hand of judgment. This act of mercy causes Jonah to become angry with God. Yet even in his self-righteous temper tantrum, God's mercy tries to reason with Jonah.

This story points to another time much later when Jesus would come to the world and challenge both the sin of wickedness and the sin of self-righteousness. And just like Jonah's day, the wicked were more prone to change than the religious!

Today's commentary by: Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, GraceNYC.org

What do you think? Discussion at: http://facebook.com/DailyBibleVerse