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International, Inc.
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How do we live in grace? Grace is the Lord Jesus living His life in and through us. It is no longer our life. He gave us His life in exchange for our old life in Adam. What a deal! We do not have to measure up to any expectation. It is His life. He lives His life through us. Christ in me, the hope of glory. Glory is the highest expression of something. My best expression, or being all I was created to be, my destiny, can only come when Christ is living His life through me. Grace is understanding that Jesus is my life. He answers every need and desire I can ever have. My old desires (fame, money, drugs, alcohol, popularity) are imitations (fakes) of real life. Those desires are no longer who we are. We are free to say no to the flesh. Flesh always brings pain and bondage.
God has planned good works for us to walk in. This is impossible for us to do on our own, so we can relax and surrender our lives to God. He will impact other people's lives through us. What an awesome journey with God.
Now, use your imagination, as we journey back through time to look at the Life Connection Story "Paul Part 5."
(Story adapted from the New Testament books written by the Apostle Paul, the Gospels, and specifically Acts 21:15 to 26:32.)
My name is Paul. I helped take the good news about Jesus to Europe. Churches started. I wrote letters to the churches and to my friends. I am excited to share with you how God is my very life.
I went to Jerusalem. I knew that the Jewish leaders would try to kill me for preaching about Jesus, but the Holy Spirit urged me to go. So I went. When I arrived, I met with the believers and went to the Temple. Seven days later, some of the Jews stirred up the crowd. They told lies about me and dragged me out of the Temple to kill me. The Roman commander came, and the people stopped beating me. But the commander arrested me. Then he asked who I was. The people in the crowd yelled different things, so the commander could not get the truth. He let me speak to the people. I told them about my birthplace, my education, how I used to persecute the Christians, and about my experience on the road to Damascus. I told them that God told me to preach to non-Jews. At this, the crowd shouted, "Kill him!" The commander took me into the army building and prepared to beat me. I asked whether they had the right to do this to a Roman citizen. They immediately stopped and panicked because Roman citizens could not be put into chains or beaten without a trial. They almost got themselves in a heap of trouble!
God is so good! He gave me the strength to endure this persecution. I didn't worry because He gave me the words to say.
The next morning, about 40 Jews decided that they would not eat or drink until they had killed me. My nephew found out and came and told me. I sent him to tell the commander, and he decided to take me to Governor Felix that night. Felix decided to hear my case. Five days later, the high priest, some of the older Jewish leaders, and a lawyer came before Felix and accused me of things they couldn't prove. They said I was a troublemaker. I told Felix that I was on trial for believing in the resurrection of the dead. Felix could not find me guilty of anything, but he left me in prison to please the Jews.
Two years later, a man named Festus took over as governor. Again, the Jewish leaders brought charges against me. Again, I said I had done nothing against the Jewish law, the Temple, or Caesar. I wanted Caesar to hear my case.
While I waited to go to Rome, the Jewish King Agrippa and his sister Bernice came to visit Festus. They wanted to hear my case. I told King Agrippa my story, and that I prayed that he and all the people listening would believe in Jesus like I did. They left the room and discussed what to do about me. King Agrippa said, "He could have gone free, if he had not asked to go to Caesar."
God wanted me to go to Rome to preach about Jesus. He used my arrest and trials to give me an all-expense-paid trip, courtesy of the Roman government!
God's power in us can do more than we can imagine. God saved us and made us new people, so He could do through us the good works He planned for us. He wants to bring people into peace with Him. God will never stop working in you. As we depend upon Him and let Him work through us, He impacts other people's lives through us. Without Jesus, we can do nothing. But we can do all things through Him--He is our strength. What are all things? Does it mean my things? No. All things are things God plans to do through you. There is no limit to what God can do.
Let's thank God for all He has done and for His great love for us. Pray these words of praise to Him:
God, as Your child, Your power in me can do more than I can imagine. Thank You that You will do through me the good works You have planned for me. You will never stop working in me. Without You, I can do nothing. There is no limit to what You can do.
Use Acts 21:15 to 26:32 and the Life Connection Story. They will help you complete your Life Connection Response.
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