Acts 22.17-18
[I] was praying at the temple … and saw the Lord speaking, ‘Quick!’ He said to me. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
Paul told the crowd how in his early days as a believer the Lord had instructed him to leave Jerusalem, because they would not accept his message. Now a different crowd is likewise rejecting his message. If we tell people that Jesus has saved us, they will probably react negatively. Our friends may think we have gone off our rocker. Our colleagues might think we’re living on a different planet. In some parts of the world those who become Christians may be ostracised even by their families. Indeed their lives may be in danger. They may feel, as Paul did, that they have to flee from persecution, even if that depletes the Christian testimony of their homeland. There is no promise that our witness will automatically result in people getting converted. But the Lord does not ask us to be successful, only to be faithful. He is the one who saves souls. God intervenes in people’s lives today, as he did in Paul’s, as they encounter Jesus for themselves.
Lord, we pray that you would speak through us to the people we will meet today, draw them to you, and give us the courage to speak, even if some may disagree with what we have to say.
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