WEBVTT

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Day 314, or November the 10th. Keep it short

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and simple. Our thoughts today come from Acts

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chapter 26, verse 1. Then Agrippa said to Paul,

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You have permission to speak for yourself. So

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Paul motioned with his hand and began his defence.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse. Paul

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spends his last months in Caesarea being questioned

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by Governor Festus and King Agrippa before appealing

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for trial before Caesar, as was his prerogative

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as a Roman citizen. His trial before Festus was

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aided and abetted by King Agrippa and his wife

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Bernice. Interestingly, King Agrippa, who was

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Jewish and an expert in Jewish laws and customs,

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scorns Paul's attempts to persuade him of the

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truth about Messiah, and dismisses his attempts

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by saying, Do you think you can persuade me to

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become a Christian so quickly? Paul replies,

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Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both

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you and everyone here might become the same as

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I am. And now today's action step. Are you like

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me, sometimes unsure of what to say when people

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show an interest in the Christian faith? It seems,

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when in doubt, Paul simply gave his testimony.

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Bear in mind the fact that Paul was a learned

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Pharisee, and as a Jewish religious leader, very

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used to arguing his case, dipping into the Scriptures

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regularly for suitable proof texts. However,

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when he is presented with a perfect opportunity

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to take this approach with King Agrippa, who

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was an expert in Judaism, he resorts to making

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it personal, simple, and straightforward. It

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just tells how Jesus has impacted his life. In

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a similar vein, the story is told of Dr. Karl

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Barth visiting the USA and being asked to summarize

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the theological meaning behind his renowned work,

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Church Dogmatics. After a brief pause, he said,

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Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells

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me so. As has been said many times, Kiss, K -I

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-S -S. Keep it short and simple. Don't fall into

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the trap of trying to impress people with your

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eloquence. Kiss, and leave the rest to the Holy

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Spirit.