“We have found this man to be a TROUBLEMAKER, stirring up riots among the Jews ALL OVER THE WORLD.” Acts 24:5
Friends, what would you do if you were IMMERSED in controversy? I mean, in real life this is looked at as though it’s a BAD THING 😬 and this is the EXACT topic of conversation in my most recent video “Rejected?!” linked below ….
Well, have you thought it over? What would you do? And what’s implied when a Christian causes controversy? This would have been an AWESOME question to ask almost every Biblical leader INCLUDING Jesus, but for now I want to draw your attention to what the people in the community were saying about Paul, yes, Paul, the unofficial patron saint of Gentile Christianity AND author of one third of the New Testament …
Did you notice it when we started? They called him a TROUBLEMAKER and apparently he had a “reputation” for disrupting otherwise “peaceful” communities ALL OVER THE WORLD 🤯 🤯 🤯
OK so now that you understand that, I want you to think about some of those other Bible heroes. How many of them did jailtime, suffered insults, lost everything and took on less-than-favorable reputations for the cause of God and the Gospel??
They literally ALL did! Because of this I’m rethinking my view of controversy and I’m encouraging you to do the same. So, when was the last time you caused a controversy for Jesus? 🤔
Maybe, this is EXACTLY what modern Christianity is missing AND one more reason to be BOLD in our Gospel proclamation. Maybe, we can follow their examples and be blessed in our world by the label “troublemakers” just like they were.
Think about that this week friends and may God RICHLY bless you!
Application:
Have you ever been involved in controversy because of your faith?
How should Christians handle controversy?
Name one way you can be more BOLD for Jesus in your community!