Acts 26:1-32
No mater what we might face in life, God is always with us and gives us the grace and the strength that we need to do the task at hand for His glory. Paul is a shinning example of a man who was given great tasks to perform but was also given the strength with which to do them.
GOD GAVE PAUL OPPORTUNITIES TO PREACH: Paul is given an audience with governors and kings. People to whom he would have never had access had he not been arrested. It is very dangerous for us to think that God is closing doors when things go wrong with our plans. The reality is that He is, more than likely, opening up greater opportunities for us than we would have ever planned on our own. It is not our job to create opportunities, but it is our job to be faithful to the opportunities that God gives us along the way. Far too often, we allow discouragement or disappointment with our circumstances to blind us to the opportunities that God gives us, or we simply ignore the opportunities when they present themselves. May we be faithful to use each open door to preach Christ and use each closed door to remind us to look for the new opportunity that God may be giving us.
GOD GAVE PAUL A TESTIMONY TO PROCLAIM: Paul experienced great shame at his past and suffered much during his conversion, but it was that shame and suffering that God used to form a powerful testimony of God's power and grace. God is a transformer of lives and when He performs His amazing work, it is our job to tell others of what He has done. There may be things in our past that we would just as soon forget, but those are the things that make God's grace ever more evident. Paul told all who would listen of the great work of God in his life. It was not about what Paul had done or who Paul was, it was about the glory of God and the greatness of His works. May we never get tired of telling others of the work that God has done in transforming us.
GOD GAVE PAUL A MISSION TO PERFORM: God saved Paul for a purpose and that was to preach the repentance of sin to both Jew and Gentile. He was to spread the hope of the resurrection to the nations of the world. God does not intend for us to keep His work in us to ourselves, but broadcast the Good News to every tribe and tongue. Men without Christ are lost and we hold the key to their only hope. They must turn from their sin and trust Christ. They must stop relying on their own righteousness or religion and enter into a relationship with Christ. This is the invitation that God extends to every man through us and it is our mission to accomplish this task. May we be faithful to do what He saved us to do.
GOD GAVE PAUL THE ABILITY TO PERSUADE: Festus thought that Paul had gone mad and Agrippa was almost persuaded to become a Christian. The message of Christ will always bring some sort of response. People will think that we are crazy, some people will become angry, others will pretend to ignore it, but some will repent a believe. While it is the desire of our heart that they believe and we will trust God to empower us to that end, the response of people is not our responsibility. God will enable us as He sees fit and He will use the message we proclaim in accord with His will. May God grant us the ability to faithfully and accurately proclaim the truth that He might use us to persuade some.
GOD GAVE PAUL OPPORTUNITIES TO PREACH: Paul is given an audience with governors and kings. People to whom he would have never had access had he not been arrested. It is very dangerous for us to think that God is closing doors when things go wrong with our plans. The reality is that He is, more than likely, opening up greater opportunities for us than we would have ever planned on our own. It is not our job to create opportunities, but it is our job to be faithful to the opportunities that God gives us along the way. Far too often, we allow discouragement or disappointment with our circumstances to blind us to the opportunities that God gives us, or we simply ignore the opportunities when they present themselves. May we be faithful to use each open door to preach Christ and use each closed door to remind us to look for the new opportunity that God may be giving us.
GOD GAVE PAUL A TESTIMONY TO PROCLAIM: Paul experienced great shame at his past and suffered much during his conversion, but it was that shame and suffering that God used to form a powerful testimony of God's power and grace. God is a transformer of lives and when He performs His amazing work, it is our job to tell others of what He has done. There may be things in our past that we would just as soon forget, but those are the things that make God's grace ever more evident. Paul told all who would listen of the great work of God in his life. It was not about what Paul had done or who Paul was, it was about the glory of God and the greatness of His works. May we never get tired of telling others of the work that God has done in transforming us.
GOD GAVE PAUL A MISSION TO PERFORM: God saved Paul for a purpose and that was to preach the repentance of sin to both Jew and Gentile. He was to spread the hope of the resurrection to the nations of the world. God does not intend for us to keep His work in us to ourselves, but broadcast the Good News to every tribe and tongue. Men without Christ are lost and we hold the key to their only hope. They must turn from their sin and trust Christ. They must stop relying on their own righteousness or religion and enter into a relationship with Christ. This is the invitation that God extends to every man through us and it is our mission to accomplish this task. May we be faithful to do what He saved us to do.
GOD GAVE PAUL THE ABILITY TO PERSUADE: Festus thought that Paul had gone mad and Agrippa was almost persuaded to become a Christian. The message of Christ will always bring some sort of response. People will think that we are crazy, some people will become angry, others will pretend to ignore it, but some will repent a believe. While it is the desire of our heart that they believe and we will trust God to empower us to that end, the response of people is not our responsibility. God will enable us as He sees fit and He will use the message we proclaim in accord with His will. May God grant us the ability to faithfully and accurately proclaim the truth that He might use us to persuade some.
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