Aches and Praise Five Hundred & Fifty Seven

May 13, 2022
 
 
Dear friends,  
 

On Tuesday, we looked at Acts 21 and 22 in our weekly Bible study group on Zoom. The apostle Paul brought a gift to the brethren in Jerusalem from the churches in Europe. In his Study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah observes: “Estimates are that as many as 50,000 Jews in Judea had converted to Christ while maintaining their zeal for all things Jewish. They were in the process of transitioning from Judaism to Christianity. Many of them continued to observe the law – not as a means of salvation but out of respect for God and their heritage.”

After Paul was seized by the temple crowd, he asked to speak to the commander, Claudius Lysias, who thought Paul was an Egyptian who stirred up a rebellion (Acts 21:30-38). Paul stated that he was a Jew from Tarsus and was given permission to speak to the people. He began by saying: “Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now” (22:1). Dr. Jeremiah notes: “The word translated ‘defense’ (apologaeia) provides the root meaning for the word ‘apologetics,’ the discipline of giving sound reasons for faith in Christ. Paul exemplified apologetics at work by defending his faith before a hostile audience: he understood the language and the culture; he demonstrated his life before and after Christ; he gave evidence of God’s work in his life; and he focused on Christ.”

Dr. Jeremiah describes four principles that we would do well to remember when we share our faith:

  1. “Do not be intimidated by the testimony of others. Paul definitely had a powerful preconversion story – he was the modern-day equivalent of a hitman, responsible for the deaths of many innocent Jewish believers in Christ. Of course, he thought he was doing the work of God (Acts 26:9; 1 Tim. 1:13), but it was dramatic nonetheless. Those of us who were raised in a “Christian” nation and in church environments do not have such dramatic stories to tell, and we think our testimonies are less important or interesting than others’. But nothing could be further from the truth! Every lost sheep that is found by the Good Shepherd has a story that results in praise to His grace. Every testimony is important, including yours, if you truly know Christ as Saviour.
  2. Do not get lost in the details. Remember the three parts of every testimony: what you were, how you met Christ, and what you are now – the basic elements of any “before and after” story. Those three points provide an excellent outline for anyone’s testimony and can help a person stay focused. The truth is that “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). Expressing that fact about ourselves conveys the sense that we know what is most important for others to hear.
  3. Do not forget the details of your salvation experience. This point might sound contradictory to the previous one, but it is not. Becoming a Christian happens at a specific point in time. The events leading a person to accept Christ might have been a process, but the moment at which anyone makes a conscious decision to place his or her faith in Christ and submit to His Lordship as Saviour is the moment a person becomes a Christian.
  4. Do not let the enemy persuade you that your story is unimportant. Satan would love to convince each of us that the story of our salvation is inconsequential to the rest of the world. But here is the secret to remember: Satan is not trying to keep people from hearing about us; he is trying to keep people from hearing about God! And if we are the channel for the message of God’s grace and forgiveness, then Satan wants to shut that channel down by trying to convince us to remain silent. Satan’s target in spiritual warfare is God – working to persuade Christians that God is not worth trusting, that He is unfaithful and unforgiving. When we stumble and sin in the Christian life, Satan is not saying “Look at that poor Christian,” he is saying, “Look at the weak God who could not keep that Christian from sinning.” If we yield to the pressure not to speak about the grace of God that saved us, the people who need to know of His grace may never hear. Do not let the enemy persuade you that your story is unimportant. Be sure to give the glory to God.”

 

By God’s grace, let us declare what the Lord has done and is doing in our life, as well as encourage others to seek Him.
 

Scripture for the weekend: “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21 (NKJV)

Thought for the weekend: “It takes faith to be patient, but it also takes trials to give us that patience! Trials without faith will create impatience, but trials plus faith can create in us a patience that permits God to do what He wants to do.” – Warren W. Wiersbe (from his book “Why Us? When Bad Things Happen to God’s People”)

 
By His grace,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
Steve

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