Acts 22

As we open this chapter we find that Paul is beginning his address before the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem. They had been riotous before but now began to quiet when they heard Paul begin to speak, especially when they heard him speaking in their own language. This makes me wonder if they had heard rumors of this man, Paul but not knowing the truth about him. I wonder if they assumed him to be a Gentile/Greek who was leading the Gentile people, and some Jewish people to forsake their Mosaic laws and adhere to a new way. As I mentioned yesterday, assumptions create discord and strife within the body and confusion to those outside of the body. I wonder how many people have been turned off to Christianity because of the disunity within the church or because of the infighting as a result of assuming.

Paul continues to speak to the crowd giving testimony of how God had radically transformed him from a Jesus hating, Christian slaughtering, and church disseminating man to a wholly surrendered and Gospel sharing passionate follower of Jesus Christ who was willing to die for His Lord and Savior. But isn't this the radical transformation we all must encounter. Although we may not be a Jesus hating, Christian slaughtering, and church disseminating person if we are not a wholly surrendered and Gospel sharing passionate follower of Jesus Christ who was willing to die for his/her Lord and Savior then we are still an enemy of God. The scripture says in Matthew 12:30 "Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters." James says in 4:4, "Don't you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy." Who is your friend? Would you be classified by Jesus as one of His? Would you be labeled as a person who is wholly surrendered and Gospel sharing passionate follower of Jesus Christ who was willing to die for His Lord and Savior? Alignment with God requires a radical change from who we were to whose we are!

Lessons We Learned:
1. Assumptions still cause great strife.
2. An encounter with Jesus requires a radical change in who we are and whose we are!