The fundamental problem with the religious elite was pride. They were quite happy to receive praise and glory from one another, but when their Messiah comes in the name of the Father, they do not receive Him. Their own law should have convicted them of their wickedness. However, they were satisfied in their own "righteousness"

We often use this fancy title "The Damascus Road Encounter" to describe what actually happens in the hearts of people when they first come to faith. Our encounters may not be as dramatic as Saul's was, but our hearts and lives become changed forever. Let's learn some lessons from this narrative!

Let believers ask their Master for wisdom. Let the Lord be your primary source of wisdom. It's not good keeping Him to one side as a mere advisor. But it is good to be submissive servants asking freely and receiving generously from Him!

The Father bears witness about the Son. The Jews did not actually have love for the Father or any desire to please Him. That's why they rejected Jesus, the Word of the Father in flesh. If they truly knew the Scriptures, they would have found Jesus for the Scriptures point to Him

The courage of Stephen to stand up for Christ's truth ultimately led him to become the first Christian martyr. The reality of persecution is all around us. However, the record of Stephen teaches us that we too can face persecution with boldness and confidence in our Lord!

Trials of faith produce wholesome perseverance. God is perfecting our faith: making it complete in every part. If we have an eternal mindset, we can have full confidence (and joy!) that every trial and temptation is an opportunity to grow and grow!

What we see here is somebody so dependent on the divine will that He can do nothing of Himself. Jesus is somebody so in tune with the truth, that He can confidently claim to be the subject of this witness. If only the religious elite managed to kill their pride, they would have responded to the truthful witness.

Being proud is being puffed up with a whole lot of nothing. Today we look at three examples of pride issues in the Bible, as well as a story from Winnie the Pooh!

God asks Job a really tough question: "Will you make me guilty to justify yourself?" We best not play "god" with God! He is good, holy, and in charge of all things. Let's revere Him that way!

Jesus says the hour is coming and is now when the dead will hear His life-giving voice. He is speaking of the spiritually dead: they are given new spiritual life from Him. Those who are made spiritually alive will also be physically resurrected to the fullness of salvation at the end of time.