[Darris McNeely] Have you ever had an insight or kind of a wakeup call where you finally understood something? You saw something in a different light. Sure, you have. We all have. You know what that's called at times in our English language? It's called a "Road to Damascus Experience". Do you know where that phrase "Road to Damascus Experience" comes from? It comes from the Bible. Every year when I teach the Book of Acts to students I always bring this out as we get to chapter 9 in the Books of Acts and the story of Saul who becomes ultimately the Apostle Paul is persecuting the followers of what is called The Way, the early church of God. Saul is on his way to Damascus, it says, beginning in verse 1 with warrants of arrest that he obtained from the high priest in Jerusalem for any in Damascus that he would find believing in Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the resurrected Messiah. And he's breathing out threatenings and slaughters as scripture says, and as he travels here's what happens.

"He journeyed and he came near to Damascus," it says in verse 3, "and suddenly a light shown around him from heaven. He then fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' to which Saul replied, 'Who are you, Lord?' The Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'" Here was an aha moment, an insight as the account goes on. Saul, who had been persecuting followers of Jesus, was now confronted by Christ. And he basically said, "You're working against me. You're kicking against the goads," which was a spike that got an ox to actually go forward and to pull the cart and if they resisted and they kicked they hit this sharp-pointed stake. Saul was doing that when he came to his relationship with Christ and it turned his whole life around, this experience on the road to Damascus.

That's where we get the term. Think about it in your life. At times we will get insight. We will get a wakeup call about things that we maybe have labored with, worked with, and don't completely understand. Maybe for some of you listening, it may boil down to an insight into actually the scripture itself, the Bible, and your relationship with God where you need a road to Damascus experience. You need to see something differently. You need the help of God to come to that point. Pray about that. Seek your own road to Damascus experience when it comes to your own relationship with God, your own needs, and what's happening in your life today. Ask God for that help and He will.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.