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| PAUL'S LEGAL BATTLES |
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| The Beginning of the End Paul's last days of freedom summarize his turbulent life. His friends' fears regarding Jerusalem proved well-founded. A murderous mob there assailed him with trumped-up charges and he had to be rescued bodily by soldiers. In typical brazen style, Paul asked to address the unruly crowd, using the chance to confront them with his life's testimony. The crowd listened until he got to the part about a mission to the Gentiles; then it erupted. In his speech (22:3-21), Paul referred back to the day he stood on the sidelines cheering as Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was killed. That violent scene was forever etched in Paul's mind as a reminder of his former life. But another memory was even more powerful: the blinding light on the road to Damascus. Ever after that event in Damascus, Paul seemed determined to stun the human race as he had been stunned on that desert road. No matter how many nights in jail it cost him. Life Questions: Acts 20 shows Paul's closeness to other Christians. What produced such intense feelings? What could increase your closeness with others? |