True Citizenship

 

True Citizenship

Acts 22: ²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

 

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

 

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Feeling out of place became the norm for me. After a while, I accepted my misfit status and sat alone in many places. I did not like those who laughed at me or who talked negatively about me. I felt alone.

 

• There were times when I felt alone in a crowd.
• There were times when I felt I did not belong.
• There were times when I felt there had to be another place where I felt welcome.

 

Paul explained his background as a Jew, but when he said he was sent to the Gentiles by GOD, the crowd got angrier. The commander ordered him to be taken inside and flogged. Paul questioned this move, knowing the local law. Paul was a citizen and knew his rights.

 

• GOD wants me to know where I came from.
• GOD wants me to understand that this cursed world is not my home.
• GOD wants me to focus on HIS kingdom while I am still in this cursed world.

 

Before I was born, GOD made me. I mean, HE knew everything about me before I was ever born. HE chose me and I chose HIM. I believed in HIS SON JESUS as my Savior and HE added me into HIS kingdom as a citizen. The only kingdom that matter is HIS eternal one. I am glad to be part of GOD’s family and a citizen of HIS kingdom.

 

• Do you feel alone, even in a crowd?
• Do you feel like your life has a higher purpose than the one you are living?
• Will you become a citizen of GOD’s kingdom by believing that JESUS died for your sins and is now alive with all authority today and forever?