October 20, 2026 | The Movement - A Study in Acts by Byron McWilliams
Day 1: The Greatest Question in Life
Reading: Acts 16:25-34 — The account of the Philippian jailer who cries out asking what he must do to be saved, and receives the answer that changes everything.
Devotional: There is no more important question a human being can ask than what must I do to be saved. Every other question — about purpose, meaning, happiness, or legacy — pales in comparison to the question of eternity. The jailer asked it in desperation, but the answer he received was not complicated. It was not a list of requirements or a ladder of achievements. It was a person. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Examine your own heart today. Have you asked the greatest question, and have you received the only sufficient answer?
Reflection Question: When did you first seriously consider your own need for salvation, and what was your response?
Practical Application: Write down in your own words why you believe Jesus is the only answer to the greatest question in life. Share that answer with one person this week.
Day 2: The Level Ground at the Foot of the Cross
Reading: Romans 3:21-26 — Paul describes how God's righteousness is revealed through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, with no distinction between people.
Devotional: Pride is one of the most persistent enemies of the gospel. The Judaizers in Acts 15 could not accept that a Gentile who had just heard the gospel stood on equal footing before God with a lifelong religious Jew. But the cross levels every hill and fills every valley. The educated and uneducated, the wealthy and the poor, the religious and the irreligious — all arrive at the cross the same way. They arrive empty-handed, dependent entirely on the grace of God. There is no premium seat at the foot of the cross. There is only level ground.
Reflection Question: Are there people in your life toward whom you hold a subtle sense of spiritual superiority? How does the cross challenge that attitude?
Practical Application: Intentionally pray today for someone you consider very different from yourself spiritually or socially, asking God to extend his grace to them as freely as he extended it to you.
Day 3: The Free Gift That Cannot Be Earned
Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10 — Paul explains that salvation is not a result of works but is entirely the gift of God, given by grace through faith so that no one may boast.
Devotional: The word free gift carries enormous weight. A gift that requires payment is not a gift at all — it is a transaction. God does not deal in transactions when it comes to eternal life. He deals in grace. Romans 6:23 makes the contrast clear: wages are earned through labor, but eternal life is given freely through Christ Jesus. When you attempt to add your own effort to what God has already completed, you are not supplementing grace — you are denying it. Jesus said on the cross that it is finished. He did not say it is started. Rest today in the completeness of what he has done.
Reflection Question: In what areas of your spiritual life are you still unconsciously trying to earn God's favor rather than simply receiving his grace?
Practical Application: Memorize Ephesians 2:8-9 this week. Recite it aloud each morning as a declaration of dependence on God's grace rather than your own effort.
Day 4: The Holy Spirit as Evidence of Salvation
Reading: Acts 10:44-48 — The Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles gathered in Cornelius's house, and Peter recognizes that God has granted them the same gift he gave the Jewish believers.
Devotional: Peter's argument at the Jerusalem Council was rooted in something he had personally witnessed. God had given the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles just as he had given him to the Jews. The evidence of salvation is not found in a certificate of religious membership or a record of good deeds. It is found in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. He convicts you of sin, illuminates the Scriptures, and confirms in your heart that you belong to God. If you are sensitive to his voice and feel his conviction when you stray, that is the fingerprint of God on your soul.
Reflection Question: What evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence and work do you see in your daily life?
Practical Application: Spend fifteen minutes in quiet today, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal one area of your life where he is currently working to conform you more closely to the image of Christ. Write down what comes to mind and respond in prayer.
Day 5: The Conforming Work of God in the Saved Life
Reading: Romans 8:28-30 — Paul describes God's purpose to conform those he has called to the image of his Son, working all things together for their good.
Devotional: Receiving salvation is simple. Becoming more like Jesus is the lifelong work of God in you. Once you are saved, God does not leave you as he found you. He begins the patient, sometimes painful process of scrubbing away everything that does not reflect his Son. The trials, the difficulties, the moments of conviction and correction — none of these are signs that God has abandoned you. They are signs that he is actively involved in your life, shaping you with intention and love. The same God who gave you the free gift of eternal life is also committed to seeing that gift produce fruit in everything you do.
Reflection Question: Looking back over the last year, where do you see evidence that God has been conforming you to the image of Christ, even through difficulty?
Practical Application: Identify one specific area where you sense God is currently at work in your character. Commit to cooperating with that work this week rather than resisting it, and ask a trusted fellow believer to pray with you and hold you accountable.