Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?

Acts 26:14
And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

When Saul (Paul) heard this from the Lord, He was confused about how he actually persecuted the glorious Being that appeared before him. Although he did not at first recognized it was the Risen Jesus of Nazareth, he knew this being to be a heavenly being.

Today, we may be persecuting Yshua without realising it. The things we do which goes against His will, the things we do in His name but not actually His will, the things we do to built up religion around Yshua instead of actually pointing people to Yshua and a whole lot more, may actually be persecuting our Lord. So then how do we not persecute the Lord? The answer is to surrender and do not our will but His will. This is of course easier said than done but the only way to know His will is to be in close communion and walk with Him all the time.

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For I have appeared to you for this purpose

Acts 26:16
But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.

Paul encountered the risen Lord and his entire life changed. He had only one purpose and that is to do the will of God as revealed in Yshua. The encounter itself may have been short, and Jesus said few words. There was no doctrine or theology being taught, no correction to Paul intellectual knowledge. It was just Yshua revealing Himself. That was enough to change the life of Paul.

Although many of us do not have the Jesus encounter that Paul did, when we believe, the Holy Spirit did come into us. It is not by our own wisdom or understanding that we chose Christ, but He chose us. Having been chosen, we still must will ourselves to live for Christ.