God’s Word Says….

Acts 26:17-20 (MSG)

“…. ‘I’m sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I’m sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.” What could I do, King Agrippa? I couldn’t just walk away from a vision like that! I became an obedient believer on the spot. I started preaching this life-change—this radical turn to God and everything it meant in everyday life

My Thoughts…..

Paul was captured for openly proclaiming Jesus as the messiah, and in these chosen verses he continues with his self-defense, and especially his understanding of why he believes he was arrested. His life before Christ was awful. Filled with hatred for Christ, His church and His believers. We too are, or were filled with sin and openly rejected Christ and hated to see a believer getting too close to us, because old Satan kept reminding us that they would only try and share the mystery of the cross with us. When God enters our lives through our invitation, and with our permission, there are many changes that He draws our attention to. Please don’t brush this story off because you feel like Paul was so much worse that you ever could have possibly been. Your sin and Paul’s sin looked the same to God, for both lives were following a path of destruction and opposition to what God desires in His teachings in the Word of God (the Bible). Friends, for us to compare our lives to that of Jesus, and the ideals taught in His Word, I hope that you will agree that without Christ, our lives could easily have been considered ‘awful’ also. Please remember that our plumb line is Jesus, not our friends, and not even another Christian. He is the only perfect one, and He is the only One that ever sacrificed His life for us, so that we may look forward to life eternally with Him and His Father (God).

Challenge……

Hopefully most of my readers attended church sometime over the weekend. Reflecting on this story of Paul and his court case, it made me wonder what might have happened in our respective towns this weekend if, as we exited from church the authorities were waiting to arrest us? What might possibly be the charges? If we stood before the best judge in our town court, would we possibly use our commitment to Christ as an excuse for anything we may have done in our community? Are we prepared to say in a public setting what we feel that God has called us to do in and through our servanthood and commitment to Him? Paul boldly spoke up, caring less if this may have created even more problems for him before the king. Although it appears that our leadership, and especially our courts, are very open to Christian principles, and perhaps even hearing of why Christians feel they are so special, I believe many of us would be very challenged to explain our personal conversion before a judge. In fact, I would even question if our legal system would possibly find enough evidence to arrest any of us for being a Christian! Would we use the effects of God in our lives as an explanation of anything we have been found guilty of? We have nothing to be ashamed of friend! If God resides in, and has true ownership of, our lives, then I can guarantee you that your life has been impacted. Don’t bottle it up, tell the world who Jesus is and what He has done in your life!

Prayer……

Dear Lord Jesus, please forgive us for hiding Your amazing forgiveness, love and provision from our lost world. Please use this devotional to touch the hearts of Your people once again, to remind us of all that You have done, and the transformation that occurred when we allowed You to rule and reign in our lives. The daily impact of having You rule our lives is an ongoing blessing. Please humble us to open the parts of our lives that we still hold dear. Please help us to surrender all of ourselves to all of You so that You may truly work through us to reach the unsaved of this world. Please give us boldness to freely tell our story and to give You credit for all that You have been to us, and all that You are involved in everyday of our lives. It’s You I live for Jesus. Please take charge and use this instrument for Your glory. For it is only in the name of Jesus, my Lord that I ask, AMEN!

Action…..

In response to God leading You through this devotional today, please get with a Bible teaching Pastor you may know and allow him to guide you. Otherwise feel free to reply to my post online, or you may email me directly at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. I will gladly add you to my prayer list, and/or respond to your request(s) ASAP.