Romans 3, 4 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

No one is perfect. Christ Jesus was. When we have faith, the faith that God gives to us, we can be justified to the Father through what Christ did for us on the cross. “All have sinned and come short.” [Romans 3:23] But, we have this hope that when we stanad before the Father, He sees the sacrificial blood of Christ that makes us clean.

Hallelujah!

Romans 2 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

Now if that isn’t a motive to keep a pure mind, I don’t know what is.

We have a battleground in our minds. Our flesh and our enemy, the devil, are trying to sabotage us with wrong and impure thinking. We actually have time nd space to deal with wrong thinking NOW while our thoughts are still hidden. Our goal should be purity of thought life and motive. Then, when our secrets are exposed and we are judged, we will have achieved through God’s grace a pure heart. When I pray the “Our Father,” I pray “Thy Kingdom come” in my mind “As it is in Heaven.”

Joyce Meyer wrote a good book … The Battlefield of the Mind.

Romans 1,2 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

Paul hereby advocates kindness rather than a judgmental tone. Even though people may be caught up in shameful and totally unnatural affections and sexual perversions, we are not to come across as judging them and condemning them to hell. Through our kindness, they have a better chance of hearing our message and responding in a positive way to the Gospel.

Even though the veneer may be repulsive, there may be a warm, caring soul beneath the outward appearance.

Give kindness a chance.

Acts 27 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

Ever feel like the ship of your life is wrecking? You are not alone. Consider Paul who, with 276 men, experienced a tragedy at sea but was safe. All but the lives were lost. Actually, what do you really have in this life but your life and the lives of the ones you love?

Our focus needs to be on the lives of the ones we love. God sent His angel to encourage Paul that all would be spared. They just needed to ride the ship to the end. Are you near the end? Ride the ship and the painful experiences you are having and you will live. Let go of all that’s temporal. Cling to your family. Pray for them!!!

Acts 25, 26 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

Besides Christ Jesus, Paul was the primary voice of the New Testament. His custom was to go to the synagogue in whatever city he found himself and look for an opportunity to witness about Christ. He was no novice at speaking to crowds. His crowning moments could have been when he defended himself against the accusations of the Jews as he stood before both Festus and King Agrippa. They found no fault in him.

To date, neither you nor I have been in a similar pickle. There may be days yet ahead in which we will be brought to court and accused for our faith in Christ. You may fear yourself no great orator, but BE ENCOURAGED! God promises that HE will be there with you and FILL YOUR MOUTH with the right words.

When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry ahead of time about what you should say. Say whatever is given you to say at that time, because it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit. [Mark 13:11 NCV]

Acts 22-26 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

So was Paul’s response to Festus ,the Roman governor over the province of Judea. Festus was giving Paul a trial since the Jews in Jerusalem were intent upon killing Paul because he had become a follower of “the Way.” Consistently Paul maintained his innocence and declared that he had a clear conscience. He held that he was faultless concerning the Law of Moses.

Regardless of any persecution or résistance we encounter as we maintain our testimony about Christ and His forgiveness, we are admonished to likewise maintain a life of purity and faultlessness before the world around us. Jesus said, “Be ye holy as I am holy.”

Acts 21 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

Paul had the entire city of Jerusalem on an uproar. The anti-Christ Jews were grabbing at any reason possible to eliminate Paul because his teaching disrupted their stranglehold on the people of the city. Paul’s diligent pursuit of reaching them with the Truth of Christ severely agitated the Judaizers to no end.

We now ask ourselves the question, “Do I faithfully preach Christ to unbelievers in such a way as to cause an uproar in our city?”

Holy Spirit, empower us and stir us to be more like Paul.

Acts 20 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

Paul was a hard worker. As he traveled and evangelized, he worked with his hands to support himself and those who traveled with him. As he gave final instructions to the elders of Ephesus, he likewise encouraged them to work hard to meet the needs of the weak. He was always thinking of others. Because of his skill as a tent-maker, he might have received a good wage which he used to help others. I can’t remember him ever taking an offering to meet his personal needs. He was very honorable in all his dealings.

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ [Acts 20:35]

Acts 19 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

Wherever the Apostle Paul went, he stirred it up. He “reasoned” with the Jews in the synagogues on the sabbath whenever he visited a new town. In Ephesus, the followers of Artemis went ballistic over the effect the Gospel was having on their city. The word “uproar” seems to be Paul’s effect on communities to which he preached the Gospel or where he endeavored to correct doctrinal error. Surely there was no other evangelist who was more zealous for articulating truth than him.

We all need a little more “Paul” in us.

Acts 18 [NIV Dramatized Audio]

Paul preached and reasoned in the synagogue at Corinth every sabbath, although he encountered much resistance. A new church was begun regardless of the discouragement he must have felt. Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his family became converts. In spite of the grief Paul must have felt, a lasting work which received two of the backbone chapters of the Canon of Scripture were generated. The resistance he experienced produced valuable teaching that all New Testament Christians profit greatly from.

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. [Gen. 50:20]