By Nathan D. Pietsch
www.allsufficientgod.org
The Biblical Book of Acts is a continuation of the Gospels. Several of the key players following Jesus during His earthly ministry are found in Acts. However, one of the main characters in the Book of Acts was not even a follower of Jesus while Jesus lived on the earth. This main character's name was initially Saul, but later changed to Paul following his conversion to Christianity.
Paul was a Pharisee, a religious leader of the time who consented to the murder of Christians (Acts 8:1). While Paul was en route to persecute the followers of Jesus, he encountered the Lord on the road to Damascus in a powerful way (Acts 9). Paul's conversion resulted in him traveling as a missionary and preaching the Gospel.
When Paul went to minister to the people in Athens, Greece, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols (Acts 17:16). An idol is anything that has precedence in your life over Jesus Christ. This could include: cigarettes, food, a house, a job, money, or anything else.
I really encourage you to take a quick inventory of your life and see if there might be anything sitting on a throne above Jesus Christ. If you find something, ask the Lord to forgive you for having an idol before Him. Then ask the Lord how He wants to remove that idol from your life.
