Once you’re convinced, you have to go all the way.
In Acts 26, Paul is defending himself before King Agrippa.
He tells the whole story. What he believed. What changed. What he saw. What it cost him.
And Agrippa answers:
“In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”
Depending on the translation, it sounds sarcastic. Curious. Half-serious.
Almost.
That word should bother you.
Agrippa heard it straight.
He wasn’t ignorant.
He wasn’t hostile.
He wasn’t confused.
He was close.
And close is not the same thing as in.
I suspect Paul did convince him. Agrippa knew Paul wasn’t crazy. He knew there was weight there.
But following that line all the way through would have blown up his life. Position. Alliances. Reputation. Everything shifts if that’s true.
That’s usually where people stall.
We think the danger is open rejection.
It isn’t.
The bigger danger is endless consideration.
Interested.
Thinking about it.
Respectful.
Open-minded.
Almost persuaded.
Almost obedient.
Almost serious.
Almost surrendered.
Almost doesn’t move anything.
There’s no credit for being near the line.
You cross it or you don’t.
And most people living in “almost” feel fine about it, because they aren’t far away.
But one inch short and a thousand miles short are the same result.
So the question this Sunday isn’t whether you’re hostile.
It’s whether you’re decisive.
Where are you almost?
Because almost is comfortable.
And comfortable is where decisions quietly die.
P.S. I usually offer a MBR Land Reality Check to landowners here.
But I also run another site called HisWordTogether.com.
It’s simple. It helps people read through the Bible in a year. Every year.
No commentary. No spin. No one telling you what to think. Just the readings, posted weekly every Sunday.
You can sign up to get them by email, or just check the site when you want.
There’s no need to wait until January. Start where we are and keep going.
If you want to take a look: