6/4/2010
Acts 26:1-11 (NRSV)
Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:
"I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.
"All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
"Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.
DEVOTION
"Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?"
I have to be honest. This sentence cracks me up!
I can't believe Paul said it; I'm sure he must have known that it IS truly incredible that God has the power to raise a person from the dead!
Yet, our God does have power over sin, death, and the grave! Our God is able to bring the dead back to life! Our God is able to grant all believers access to eternal life in the heavens!
Hallelujah!
Paul said that he was being persecuted on account of "his hope in the promise made by God."
Sometimes people will cheer our faith; other times people will sneer at and persecute us. But, we must never let this deter our commitment to sharing the good news!
Just as Paul boldly continued to proclaim "Christ has died, risen, and will come again!" no matter what trials befell him, we too must be ever faithful witnesses for Christ!
Oh YES!
It is incredible that Jesus was resurrected on the third day and it is just as incredible that God loves us so much that Love gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sins and gift us with eternal life.
Isn't our God GOOD? Oh yes God is!
Let us pray:
Holy One, thank you so much for your love and incredible power. You give me such joy! Please help me to share my joy with others in Jesus' Name, Amen.
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
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