Point To Jesus

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1539. Today's Devo is called Point to Jesus. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Well, welcome back, everybody, again. This is your host, Gabby. And what a blessing these devotionals have been this week as we look at the Book of Acts. And we're coming to an end. We are on chapter 26, so we are getting there. And this is awesome. But I want to jump right into this because I want us to look at again how Paul spends his time in prison. And, and I know a lot of these themes are, are similar. You know, they're all kind of coming together, which I think is really good for us to look at the end of the week, the similar lessons and the similar topics, and really challenge ourselves with them. But in Acts 26 through verse 29, we see here that Paul is now standing before King Agrippa. So yesterday we see that it was really getting kind of frustrating for Paul because Paul just kept getting almost pushed off to other people. Instead of people being the one to condemn him and say, okay, what you've done is wrong. We're going to condemn you to death or condemn you to this many years in prison. It was like nobody wanted to be the one to do it and make that decision. So all these men just kept pushing him off. Oh, you're a Roman citizen, so we can't judge you here. Oh, I don't see what's wrong with you, but the people see what's wrong with you, so let's just kind of hold off. And then now Festus gives him over, I think it was Festus gives him over to King Agrippa. So it's like one guy after the other after the other. But in the midst of it all, Paul still takes the time to point to Jesus and again to King Agrippa. Paul again starts to share his story about how he met the Lord. He shares his conversion story again. He. He shares what we call his testimony. In all these verses, you're seeing that Paul is being accused of being crazy, and King Agrippa's like, you've lost your mind. You know, this, this whole you giving your life to the Lord has made you insane. Your learning has made you insane. And Paul's like, I am not crazy. This isn't crazy. And he even challenges him. He's like, you know what I'm talking about. And in verse 28, it says, Then Agrippa said to Paul, do you think that in such a short time you could persuade me to be a Christian? In verse 29 says this, Paul replied, short time or long, I pray to God that not only you, but all who are listening to me today may become what I am. Except for these chains. That is like the greatest bar of all time. He's basically saying, I want you to live the life that I'm living, except for the chains that are around my ankles. He is showing people here that although he looks enchained and he looks in prison, he is probably, if not the most free person in that room. He is the one that's actually walking in freedom, not the people around him. And although he looks like he's not, and he looks like he is held back, he is fully free. Why? Because Christ set him free on the road to Damascus. Christ set him free in the midst of being imprisoned and in chains, standing before now another person that he has to testify to. What does Paul do? He points to Jesus. And for you and I, this is the lesson. Every platform is an opportunity to point to Jesus. In fact, he even challenged King Agrippa. He took the time in this moment he challenged him, and he even asked him, do you believe? You see, in the midst of trials and in the midst of these terrible situations, Paul has a chance to witness. He takes a point. He takes a moment to go really out of his comfort zone. He takes a moment to pause and say, king Agrippa, do you believe what I'm saying? What about you? Where are you at? And I think what's great about this is that it shows us that we don't need the perfect setting to witness to people or to point to Jesus. It doesn't have to be in church every single Sunday. It doesn't have to be like the perfect moment that God makes. No, it could simply be when you're at work over lunch. It could simply be getting coffee with a friend. It could be on the phone. Man. There's a girl in our life that we. We've talked about her a lot, and she went through one of the most difficult health challenges ever that I've. I've ever witnessed. And God brought her out of it, and God healed her body, and she is still a walking miracle. It's. It's incredible what God has done. And she said since that challenge, she's not been able to just have a casual conversation because God brought her through some things that now she's like, I need to take every chance that I get to share with people what God has done in me. She says, she's like, I'm at the park with my son and a random person's like, oh, your son's so handsome. They're talking and all of a sudden she's evangelizing and she's witnessing. And she's like, the whole fear, the whole nervousness of evangelizing and telling people about God, she's like, it's gone now. Because every person's going to have a moment in their life where they need to depend on God and only God. And so for us, we don't need the perfect place, we don't need the perfect setting. You don't need your pastor or you don't only need to just send them this devotional. You can witness too. You can be the one to share your story. You can be the one to challenge them. And you should be the one to say, I want you to live the life that I'm living. You, you might think I'm in change. You might think that I'm in a season of lack or I'm in a season of waiting. You have no idea the freedom that I am living. Let us learn from Paul, that man. Every moment in our life is a moment to point to Jesus. So this is a question. I've been adding some questions this week. Where has God placed me right now that I might be overlooking as a mission field? What areas of your life are you looking over right now and not considering that God could use you to witness to other people? Think about it. Let's pray about it together. Father, we thank you for your spirit. We thank you Lord, for the story and the testimony that you've given us. We thank you God, that you have saved us. You've called us children, you've called us sons and daughters of you. And now we have a testimony and a story to share. Father, I pray that you would reveal to us throughout, throughout the day moments that we can witness that we can testify and we could share of your goodness. We thank you for it all. In Jesus name, amen. So there you have it, your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.