Still Wanting What We Got


The apostle Paul was totally convinced that everyone should be a Christian. In his defense while facing King Agrippa, the king asks Paul:
“Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?” (Acts 26:28 NLT

And to this question:
Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.” Acts 26:29 NLT

To me one of the proofs that Christianity is real are statements like these made by the Apostles all through the book of Acts. They suffered, bled and died horrible deaths refusing to let go of their faith in Christ. And to me, there can be no greater statement in this regard than here in Acts 26 by Paul. For after all he is been through, all the riots and brutality, all the plots against his life, all the times he had to run from city to city to avoid those who wanted him dead, Paul still believes that people should come to Christ and experience the Christian faith.

Sometimes modern American Christians have two bad weeks while following Christ and want to give up on Jesus! How pathetic is that? Sometimes we let one statement made by a fellow Christian cause us to question and doubt our faith, or walk away from the church. Or we let past wounds settle in our hearts and so we carry resentment or bitterness through life. We need to take a lesson from this great man of God, this great Apostle, and remember that this movement is a suffering movement that leads to ultimate redemption, resurrection, triumph and joy.

I want to be able to get to the end of my life and love this movement and love my Savior more than ever before in my life. I want to be more excited about following Jesus after all my struggles and trials just like the apostle Paul here is in this chapter.

What was the secret? I think it can be found in one of the statements he makes to King Agrippa.

“And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven. Acts 26:19 NLT

Paul learned the secret of moving on in faith no matter what! He got a vision from Jesus, he received his call, and he just continued to move forward every day from that. When one person didn't like him he moved on, when one city hated him he moved onto the next. How much do we need to learn to do the same? To let our past be the past and embrace the future that God is giving us! This is the example of the apostle Paul and should be the experience of us all.

PRAYER:
Father I ask you for the ability to continue to look forward and not behind. Help me to forgive those who hurt me and to move forward no matter what may happen to me. Help me embrace what you were doing today in my life. I look forward to serving you in new and better ways than ever before by the grace that is in Christ Jesus my Lord. Amen.

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