Whose Advice

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

WHOSE ADVICE

Acts 27:1-12

27:1 When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. 4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. 9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast. So Paul warned them, 10 "Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also." 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.

NIV

The voyage to Rome has begun, which will lead to much trouble for all aboard the ship. First, as before, we have a travel log of the course the ship traveled. It would make sense that a ship of those days would need to put into port every so often to restore some supplies, such as food and water. Because of some of the comments about the winds, they were aboard a typical wooden ship with anywhere from one to three masts full of sails. The process of tacking against the wind was not easy, and at times it seemed they had no choice in which direction the ship would go. What can we observe and learn from this portion of the trip to Rome? The warning from Paul may have come from his own sailing experience during his various missionary trips, but from the following text, we are certain his warning was inspired by the Lord, perhaps through an angel of God or a vision. However, the men of the ship, the pilot, and the owner felt they knew best, although their reasoning was driven by profits rather than common sense, or taking the advice of a passenger in chains. What we know is that our advice should always be from the Lord, rather than from the world. We should not be driven by personal gain, but by what the Lord inspires us to do. Do we make mistakes? Of course, we are not perfect. We may also have come up against opposing winds, so to speak, experiencing difficult times on our journey through life. They could not find a safe harbor to winter in, so they kept struggling, which would cause them exactly what Paul warned them about: loss of cargo and ship. However, we know our only safe harbor is in our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Why would we want to go on and struggle through on our own when we have a safe harbor? They did not heed the warning and decided they should sail on. We cannot refuse the directions of the Lord and decide on our own to sail on, to make our own decisions. From the next portions of this narrative of their travels, we know they will experience great loss of cargo and ship. When we try to live by our choices, we might experience loss in some way, but when we sail according to the direction of the Lord, we will always find a good place, a safe harbor. The main point is: whom do we listen to, whose advice do we take, men's or God's? 

Metamorphosis

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

METAMORPHOSIS

 

Acts 26:19-32

19 "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles." 24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane." 25 "I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do." 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" 29 Paul replied, "Short time or long — I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains." 30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment." 32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

NIV

Paul had finished his testimony, at which point Governor Festus shouted at Paul, charging that he was out of his mind and that his great learning had driven him insane. It is remarkable how the world, or the people of the world who pursue knowledge, who believe the more degrees one has, the more prestigious one is, think that a Christian who has learned the truth is insane. But that is not the narrative that has the greatest impact on our lives. Paul gives the credit to God that he was able to stand before Governor Festus, King Agrippa, Bernice, and any of the people in the court and testify about repenting and turning to God, with the fact that the prophets and Moses spoke about Jesus suffering and being the first to rise from the dead. That is where we come into this story. First, we have repented, which the Greek word used here is metanoeo, which is where we get the word metamorphosis, to go through a change, but in the context, it means to have a change in the way we think. Interestingly, that must apply to every person who turns to God or professes to be a Christian, a believer, or a follower of Jesus. It is not our human nature at birth to believe in Jesus. Still, at some point in our lives, whether that is in our early or later years of life, we must go through this change of mind, this metanoeo, repentance, turning to God, and prove that we have changed the way we think by our works, or the way we behave, how we act towards others. We wonder how, once we have gone through the metamorphosis in our thinking, we change the way we think from being self-reliant, self-centered, self-exalting to being reliant on God, centering our lives on God, and exalting God, we could go back to the self-centered life. Yet we wonder whether we still think about ourselves too much, which might indicate that we have not fully repented or changed the way we think. However, there is this other truth that Jesus is the first to be raised from the dead, which means there are going to be a second, third, and so on up to thousands or millions who will be raised from the dead, including the righteous and the wicked, to stand before God. However, to be among the ones to enter into his rest, we must have gone through a metamorphosis. 

Darkness to Light

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

DARKNESS TO LIGHT

Acts 26:9-18

9 "I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. 12 "On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'  15 "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' 

NIV

As Paul stands before Governor Festus with King Agrippa and officials from both Agrippa and Festus, he continues his testimony about his encounter with the resurrected and ascended Jesus. He quotes the words of Jesus that led to his conversion from being a persecutor of the people of the Way to becoming a passionate follower of Jesus. This is where the narrative intertwines with our lives. It does not matter where we began our experience with Jesus, but we know it had to have been due to divine intervention. We are all born sinners, lost in this world, and at some point in our lives, we meet Jesus in a personal encounter. For some of us, Jesus intervened in our lives when we were adults living a self-satisfying, sinful life. For some of us who were born into a Christian, God-fearing family, we still needed a personal encounter with Jesus. The fact still remains that in order for us to see the kingdom of God, we must be born again. This is the point Paul made in his testimony regarding his divine experience with the resurrected and ascended Jesus. We know from personal experience that Jesus is alive, that God resurrected him, and, from the testimony of his disciples, that Jesus ascended back into heaven. However, that does not mean he always stays there, for Paul has testified that he met with Jesus, who surrounded him with the great light of Jesus, the bright Morning Star. Jesus told Paul that he was sending him to the Gentiles to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. This must be the testimony of every believer, for we all were born into darkness and must have our eyes opened to the light of Jesus. That is our story, from darkness to light. 

Sold Out For Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SOLD OUT FOR JESUS

Acts 26:1-8

26:1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2 "King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. 4 "The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

NIV

We are at the point where Paul made his defense before King Agrippa. He began by asking the king to be patient, as what he had to say would be thorough and lengthy, giving the full testimony of his previous life, his encounter with Jesus, and how that encounter changed both him inwardly and the course of his life. He started out explaining who he was, a full-fledged Pharisee, completely sold out to the law.  Paul spoke about the hope of the twelve tribes, meaning all of Israel, which was the long-awaited Messiah. Before Paul gets into his encounter with Jesus, he asks this incredible question: “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?" There must have been King Agrippa, the Jewish high officials who were part of the king's court, as well as any of the honored Jewish guests, and Festus and his court that we’re hearing Paul. We know the answer to that question, as we believe God raises the dead. First, Jesus showed he had both the authority and the power to raise the dead, as recorded. Then, because of the great love God lavished on us, Jesus went to the cross for our sins, took all of them upon himself, paying the price for us so that we could live. God raised him from the dead. The Jews held onto the promise of the coming Messiah, but when he came, he did not come as they expected, so they refused to believe in him and missed their opportunity for life. However, we did not miss it because we, too, have had an encounter with Jesus. Although all of us believers come from such a wide variety of backgrounds, some born into a believing home, others born to a non-believing home, each of us had to, at some point in time in our lives, have a personal encounter with Jesus. Jesus made it very clear that unless we are born again, we will not see the kingdom of God. This means that it does not matter where we were born or what setting we grew up in, as it comes down to a personal encounter with Jesus, a rebirth into the kingdom of God. That is what happened to Paul, being reborn, born again, or born from above, changed from the inside out, into a new person in Jesus. Paul was sold out for Jesus, and that should be our story too. Because we have encountered Jesus and believe that we will be raised from the dead, that is, we believe in our resurrection, if Jesus does not come back before we die, we are sold out for Jesus. 

Great Pomp

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GREAT POMP

Acts 25:22-27

22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, "I would like to hear this man myself." He replied, "Tomorrow you will hear him." 23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high ranking officers and the leading men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said: "King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. 27 For I think it is unreasonable to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him."

NIV

It sounds like Governor Festus is a reasonable man, wanting to do the right thing in having something actually charged against Paul that he could write when he sends Paul to Rome to appeal before Caesar. King Agrippa wants to hear what Paul has to say, but we wonder whether he is really interested in Paul's message or whether he wants to find some point in the law to prove Paul's guilt.  However, what we find of interest is the next day when King Agrippa and Benice entered the audience room of Festus. They arrived with great pomp, accompanied by high-ranking officers and leading men of the city. Of course, Agrippa is the king over parts of Judea, and a king should have some pomp and ceremony surrounding his entrance into any room. But wouldn't that also mean he was puffed up with a sense of how important he was? The major leaders of nations today receive some, and in certain cases, a lot, of pomp and ceremony when they enter for a special event. Maybe they are due all that pomp, because they do occupy positions of presidents and kings. It is how we think of ourselves that is important in light of our position in the body of Christ. We have watched some who think more highly of themselves than they should, creating great edifices to represent their importance. That is also true in Christianity, with great and mighty churches built that should honor God, but that may instead exalt a man. We think of one who has built a great campus, claiming it is for the purpose of where he will rule and reign when Jesus comes for the thousand-year reign. What we should remember is to learn from Jesus, for he is gentle and humble in heart, and that he came to serve, not to be served. That would mean we would live gently and humbly among others, serving in whatever way God directs us. He is in authority or manages our lives, with the Spirit dispensing his gifts as he determines. All the gifts and his fruit are for the benefit of all, which means not just for the giftee or the tree bearing fruit. If anyone desires all the pomp and ceremony, it would be Jesus. Let us not forget to live humbly before our God and men. Let us forgo all pomp and ceremony, so we are not puffed up. 

It Is A Fact

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

IT IS A FACT 

Acts 25:13-21

13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king. He said: "There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. 15 When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned. 16 "I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges. 17 When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. 20 I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. 21 When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor's decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar."

NIV

King Agrippa has now entered the conversation about Paul, as he came to pay his respects to the new Roman governor. Festus. It makes sense that Festus would bring up the case of Paul as King Agrippa, a ruler of the Herodian Dynasty who governed parts of Judea and the surrounding Areas. Benice was his sister who traveled with him, and history records that she was beautiful and was known to have many relationships. However, the most important part of this conversation is what Festus told Agrippa about Paul's beliefs about Jesus. Of course, Festus made it sound that Jesus was a dead man, and Paul claimed that he was alive. As far as Festus was concerned, Jesus was a dead man. As the new governor, he must have been informed of the entire situation in Jerusalem under the rule of Pontius Pilate, which culminated in the crucifixion of Jesus, which meant that Jesus was a dead man. Yet, Paul claimed that, because of his divine encounter with Jesus, Jesus was alive. It was no claim; it was fact, and Paul testified about what was true. That is where we take our lesson for today. The truth is that Jesus is alive, that God raised him from the dead, which we know as a resurrection. We know that Jesus had the power to raise people from the dead and did so three times that have been recorded. Because Jesus was resurrected and he has the power to resurrect the dead, then it would not be our hope to be resurrected, but our resurrection is a fact. Jesus made it as clear as possible when he said that although we die, we will live. This is not simply our belief or based on what we believe; this fact is grounded in the word of the Lord, for every word that God has spoken is an absolute fact that does not depend on whether we believe it or not. However, whosoever does believe will be saved rather than perish, because both the believers and non-believers will be resurrected to stand before the judgment seat of God. It will happen! That is a fact! We do not need to hope that we will be resurrected; we only need to testify that it is true. 

The Plot

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE PLOT

Acts 25:1-7

25:1 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. 3 They urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus answered, "Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me and press charges against the man there, if he has done anything wrong." 6 After spending eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. 7 When Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove.

NIV

We are introduced to the new Roman governor, Festus. We do not know much about him yet; it would appear he wants to find out as much as he can about this conflict the Jews had with Paul, a man being held in Caesarea for over two years. Again, we see religious men, who are supposed to be Godly men, who serve as chief priests and Jewish leaders, who would have been elders and teachers of the law, which would have included the Sanhedrin comprised of both Pharisees and Sadducees, seeking an opportunity to kill a man. How can men who confess their faith in God plot to kill a man because of their hatred of his message about Jesus?  Then, to compound their sin of murder, they added lies to their plot. We know the truth Jesus taught when he expanded the command, "You shall not murder." He made it clear that murder will be judged, but that if we are angry with someone, we will be judged. The truth Jesus taught was that anger, or becoming exasperated with someone, as the Greek word Orgizo carries that meaning, is the same as murder. Of course, the major difference would be that the Jews were plotting to commit murder, we simply are responding with anger, or become exasperated with someone because we think more highly of ourselves than we should. In some sense, we are similar to the Jews, in that they were supposed to be holy men, and we profess our faith in Jesus, being religious people, except we are holy because God has declared us holy and blameless in his sight because of Jesus. Yet, as holy people, spiritual people, rather than religious people, like the Jews, we would not ever consider plotting against or becoming angry with anyone. We do wonder if, by default, gossip is a form of plotting against someone, in essence, attempting to destroy or murder their character, and that it would involve a sense of anger, envy, jealousy, or judgmentalism against the person we are gossiping about. If that happened, we would be guilty of plotting.  Then, we must consider: if we listen to the plot and the gossip, have we become as guilty? Even if we can restrain ourselves from gossip and keep our exasperation just an attitude within, it is still the same as murder.