No Groveling

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NO GROVELING

Acts 24:1-9

24:1 Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. 2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: "We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. 3 Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. 4 But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly. 5 "We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect 6 and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him." 9 The Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

NIV

If Ananias could make more of a fool of himself buttering up Governor Felix, we think he would have. Oh, Most excellent Felix we have such profound gratitude for the way you brought such reforms to our nation. Hold on a minute, this is a Roman procurator, a governor of the occupying forces who control the indigenous people who God gave this land to. They are the ones who are supposed to rule under the provision and direction of God. Yet they not only yield to this foreign power, they bow before him, perhaps not physically, but with their words. There is no question that because Rome occupies Israel, their laws are carried out with the use of force if needed. The Jews must obey the laws of Rome if they are to enjoy a peaceful existence. The problem with this obedience to Rome is that Caesar who sits in Rome considers himself to be a god. How is it then if the Most Holy God commanded, they should have no other gods before Him, they give such accolades to Caesar’s local representative. Of course, this bowing to Felix is totally self-serving. They are saying anything to promote their own agenda. It makes us think about our lives and how we are to live in this world. Although this world was created for the purpose to sustain our lives, that is God created us to occupy and subdue this land and rule over all the creatures in it. However, because of sin that was broken and we were cast out of the garden and required to work by the toil of our hands and the sweat of our brow for our substance. Over the years, thousands of them, it seems that Satan has become the occupying force of this world. He wants people to worship him, with their words and their behaviors. We were once subject to this cruel form of governance of the devil, but once we were reborn into the kingdom of God, we were released from any occupying forces. However, we are still in a spiritual battle against all the forces of evil, and God has armed us well with His armor. Nevertheless, we are not ruled by this occupier, this ruler of the dark. We do not have to give him any praise, as the high priest did to Felix. Although, those who live strictly for the purpose of self-gratification, self-fulfillment, and self-aggrandizement may well be given the honor to the devil perhaps unaware of their bowing to him. We, however, are no longer citizens here, for we have forfeited our passports and been given new citizenship in the kingdom of heaven with a new passport and new travel plans. Let us always be praising our God and no one else, not anyone is worthy of praise except the Most High God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It is right to give respect to those who God has placed in authority, but not to grovel before them. 

Justice

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

JUSTICE 

Acts 23:31-35

31 So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. 32 The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. 33 When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, "I will hear your case when your accusers get here." Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod's palace.

NIV

We would think this is nothing but a travel record of how Paul was escorted from Jerusalem to Caesarea by the Roman army. Because of our findings, we conclude this was more than one day's journey. From the narrative we find all two hundred infantrymen,  two hundred spearmen and the seventy calvary men all arrived in Antipatris, which is about thirty-eight miles North of Jerusalem, a little eastward. It is doubtful that marching soldiers, with all their gear, could travel that far in one day. This was several days of travel and then all the horsemen took Paul the rest of the twenty-eight miles up to Caesarea. Again, even on horses, this had to take a couple of days. However, once the letter was presented to Felix, he was willing to hear Paul’s case once his accusers arrived. This is justice in the Roman way, which is how our system should work as well. However, this is not about the law, as we can see this applying in our personal relationships both within and without the church. The second issue, we already commented about is the commitment of the Roman commander to make sure Paul was protected from his enemies. This was not just a one-moment act of protection, but it was a sustained effort with his men marching for days to protect Paul because he was a Roman citizen. Because we are citizens of the kingdom of God, we have the Lord’s sustained protection upon us. This might seem difficult to see when illness, or aliments, come upon us, or when we lose a loved one. But that is life, however, our protection is from the schemes of the devil who is after our soul. Our protection is from the grave, although we will all breathe our last, and our bodies may rest for a period of time in the grave, as Jesus’s body did. But death where is your sting? Jesus won the victory over death, so we have eternal life. This is his sustained protection. As our personal relationships are similar to the Roman form of justice, it is about making judgments. Felix would not judge Paul’s case until he heard from his accusers, then knowing the facts. We wonder if we judge the actions of people, without knowing all the facts. Do we make snap judgments based on how someone looks? Do we use a bias when we see someone different then us? This is referred to as a confirmation bias. Do we hold any kind of gender bias? Do we use affinity bias to create little clichés, ousting all others, or banishing them from our friendship? It would seem God only judges’ mankind on whether he is in Christ or not. But then again, God knows all the facts, he knows every hair on our heads, there is nothing about us that God does not know. He looks at our hearts, so his judgments are just. His justice is perfect. Because we never will have all the facts, we should refrain from making any judgments about other people, for all we can see is their outside, their personality, their appearance, their behavior, and their words. So maybe that is simply not enough information to make an accurate judgment. So then it would be wise not to judge anyone because it is not just. 

The Letter

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE LETTER

Acts 23:25-30

25 He wrote a letter as follows:

26 Claudius Lysias,

To His Excellency, Governor Felix:

Greetings.

27 This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29 I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. 30 When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

NIV

It is obvious by any account that Paul was not guilty of breaking the law of God. However, the Jews did not care about the truth, they were acting out because they were offended due to their own interpretation of the law. They created something of their own out of the law God intended for them to realize they were going to need the Messiah to bring them to righteousness before God. This is what Paul was preaching. He first brought the good news the Messiah came in the person of Jesus Christ, and it is through faith in him, through accepting him as the Messiah, that the Jew would find peace with God, and stand righteous before him. Because they could not accept this truth God told Paul to go to the Gentiles, they will accept this truth and come to faith in Jesus Christ. For a Jew to love a Gentile would be blasphemy to them, as they hated anyone who wasn’t a full Jew. This is why there were some of those Jews who did believe followed where Paul went and taught the gentiles, they must first become a Jew, by the circumcision of the flesh. Nevertheless, the whole point is the Jews hated Paul, mainly because he showed them the errors in their thinking. Once again this is about the truth or tradition. Yet, here Paul was in the protective custody of the commander of the Roman garrison at Jerusalem. By the confession of the commander in his letter to Governor Felix, who was the Roman governor, or procurator, over the Judea. We do notice how the commander makes himself look good in his letter to Felix. We wonder if the commander’s actions were about actually keeping the peace in Jerusalem motivated by his allegiance to Rome, or more out of his opportunity to lift himself up in the sight of Rome. This is where we might learn some lessons. Whatever way in which we serve the Lord, or the church in the name of the Lord, do we do that out of our allegiance to Jesus, or do we have any sense at all of wanting to look good in front of the Pastor. That is lifting ourselves up in any way whatsoever. This could be the difference between pure humility in our service to the Lord or being boastful about all we do, or how much we know, enumerating every one of our activities, and knowledge, whenever we have the opportunity, We know pastors in our denomination are required to submit an activity or ministry report annually to our region headquarters, but even that should be done in pure humility for we only serve because of our call, and Jesus taught that humility is the key to serving, as he washed the feet of his disciples. There is a difference between humility and boldness, for Paul was indeed bold, but he was also humble before the Lord and before men. The question is what kind of letter would be written about us. 

Dwelling in God

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

DWELLING IN GOD

Acts 23:16-24

16 But when the son of Paul's sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul. 17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him." 18 So he took him to the commander. The centurion said, "Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you." 19 The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, "What is it you want to tell me?" 20 He said: "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. 21 Don't give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request." 22 The commander dismissed the young man and cautioned him, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me." 23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, "Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Provide mounts for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix."

NIV

This is the first time we remember anything said about the family of Paul. We do not know anything about his sister, or Paul’s nephew, but here they are involved, concerned about the well-being of their brother and uncle. Although Luke only tells us that the son of Paul’s sister came to the barracks with news of the plot. Again, we are not told how he discovered the news of this conspiracy to lay in wait to ambush Paul while being transported to Governor Felix. What is interesting is how this commander reacted to this news. First, he does not want the Jews to know of his knowledge of their scheme. He does whatever is necessary to protect the life of Paul while he is under his protection. This is a whole lot of roman soldiers that the commander puts together to escort Paul under the cover of night, which would be far ahead of the Jews setting up their ambush in the morning. This gives us an example of how God puts us under his protection. Could it be possible that we have a legend of angels guarding our path to heaven, to see our Lord Jesus? We know there are believers in many of the places of the world that have been killed because of their faith, and they have been tortured in the most hideous ways. Yet were they not also ushered into the presence of Jesus, even perhaps by a detachment of angels? We would have to include the entire psalm 91 to give a complete view of the hand of God at work. However, in short, he will command his angels concerning us, to guard us in all our ways. If we make the Most High our dwelling place, even the Lord, who is our refuge, then no harm will befall us. If we make the Lord our habitation, our abode, our temple, our retreat, or asylum, is the key to all of this protection. We cannot simply live a normal human life, going about what other humans do or live. We have been transformed into a new human, one who dwells in the Most High. No mere human can make his dwelling in the Most High God unless he first dwells in the Lord Jesus. He is our refuge, our Savior, our very life. Paul could not make his journey to see Governor Felix on his own, for surely the Jews, his enemies, would lay in ambush and kill him.  If we try to make this journey in life on our own, surely the enemy of our soul would be laying in ambush and find us vulnerable to his plot of killing us. But we do not travel along, we are under the guard of a thousand angels, well, actually all we need is to be dwelling in Jesus, for he is the one who commands all his angels concerning us. It is also interesting it was the son of Paul’s sister who revealed the plot. It is also the Son of God who reveals the plot of our enemy.  Let us never leave the dwelling place of God. 

Conspiracy

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

CONSPIRACY

Acts 23:12-15

12 The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13 More than forty men were involved in this plot. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here."

NIV

The plot thickens. Now it comes down to a conspiracy of the Jews. This is indeed puzzling because these are Jews, the chosen people of God, who he elected to come to them in human form to redeem them from the curse of the law. These are supposed to be holy men, consecrated to God, and worship him in his temple. These are the men who exposed their conspiracy to the chief priests and elders, men who are supposed to be not only holy men but the spiritual leaders of the people. Not only did they expose their plot to kill Paul to the chief priests and elders, but they also wanted and received both their blessings, and involvement. Oh, the depth of depravity among the holy men of God. The worst thing about this depravity, this sinful nature that is motivating their conspiracy to commit murder, is they believed they were doing it in the name of the Lord. We wonder just how much we do in the name of the Lord that is motivated by our own selfish ambitions. Certainly, we would not conspire to commit murder, however, Jesus taught us that we are not to be angry with our brothers. This was in context with him comparing being angry with our brothers as the same as murder. It is interesting the use of the Greek word orgidzo. This means to provoke or enrage. This seems to explain how the Jews felt as they plotted or conspired to commit murder. Again, it is doubtful that any Christian today would become that filled with anger, it would be the same as wanting someone dead. However, do we have people in our lives that we simply do not like? As a believer we are supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves, but can we love someone and still not like them, almost to the point of hatred. There are those people who just rub us the wrong way, like nails scratching on a chalkboard. Still, would we do them any harm? It could be possible that because of our dislike for someone, that we could harm their reputation through gossip. We do not think that any believer would even plot to gossip in an effort to cause friction or harm another believer. It could be a slippery slope that may not be a conspiracy involving many people, but simply an inward one, devised to bring someone’s character into question. This could only be motivated by thinking more highly of oneself than we should. This may be the way the Jews plotted to kill Jesus. They were too much of themselves, blinded to the truth. We have to be very careful not to allow any ill-feeling creep into our thinking for that could lead to being provoked or enraged, if nothing else within, which could lead to outward behavior. 

Be of Good Cheer

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BE OF GOOD CHEER

Acts 23:11

11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." 

NIV

Following this dispute between the Pharisees and Sadducees that became extremely violent over a statement Paul made about believing in the resurrection, the commander had him brought into the barracks. This is where we find Paul and that night, which was stated as the following night, which was the night that followed the day of the dispute. It is interesting the Lord stood near Paul. The Greek with does imply to stand near, to be present, at a place. This certainly means that somehow the Lord was present in the barracks, standing there in the presence of Paul. What an experience Paul must have had to stand face to face with the Lord. We do wonder if Paul was standing, or because of the presence of Jesus, Paul fell down prostrate before him. We would certainly think that if Jesus showed up in the room we were, doing whatever we were doing, we would indeed fall face down on the floor. How could anyone be as so bold to stand in the presence of Jesus? However, Jesus did stand near to Paul, and we are not told that Paul said anything. Again, how could we say anything at all while we fell face down on the floor if Jesus just showed up and stood near us? On the other hand, if a long-lost friend showed up we would stand and embrace them, but we would think that we would not dare to embrace Jesus, although he might embrace us. What Jesus tells Paul is direct, but also filled with grace and truth. “Take courage” are words that speak to all of us. For Paul, it was that he was going to finally get to Rome and that he would be able to testify about Jesus. We will get to all the travels and testimony of Paul before Fetus, then Agrippa, and finally among those in Rome, but first, those words of Jesus encourage us. We should all take courage. It is interesting all the other places this Greek word translated as courage here, is translated as be of good cheer. Although the meaning to take courage and to be of good cheer could mean the same of at least very similar. Nevertheless, although the Lord has not stood right in front of us, we do have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and he does lead us into all truth, which would say to us that we are to be of good cheer, that we are to take courage in this life. We cannot walk around with a down cast countenance, moaning and groaning about either our infirmities or our circumstances in this life. If anyone could have been downcast, it would have been Paul. The Jews were trying to kill him. He had been beaten, flogged in more than one occasion, run out of town at other times, and generally hated by many. However, there were also many who loved him and he was endeared and revered. Yet in his current situation, he must have been a little down, for Jesus saw his situation and came to encourage Paul. We can be sure that whenever we might get a little down because of our situation in life, or because of physical pain, we can be sure the Spirit is there to lift us up, to encourage us, to tell of to be of good cheer. 

True to the Truth

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

TRUE TO THE TRUTH

Acts 23:6-10

6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead." 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) 9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. "We find nothing wrong with this man," they said. "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" 10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

NIV

Paul knew he was going to cause a huge dispute, between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. This was done so as to reflect any claim of judicial authority they might think they have over the destiny of Paul. This might be useful in our day and age if we are suspected of causing some kind of insurrection either in the church or perhaps in some place within the world that we traverse on a daily basis. It is a Jewish concept that if two Jews were in the same room, there would be three different opinions, So it is within Christendom, as well as in the culture of today. It is doubtful we could find two Christians that espouse the exact same beliefs, although we confess, or rather we should say profess that we do. This may be why so many preachers and teachers tread lightly and avoid too many, or, controversial biblical issues. Such unabridged sermons or adult Sunday school or small group lessons might infringe on the  beliefs of too many Christians which could cause such a ruckus and division within the church that it could cause damage to first, the spiritual welfare of the church in general, and second, a loss of members, or attendees, that could have been assisted in their spiritual growth rather than hindered. However, the truth should never be abandoned to simply keep the peace. Although Paul knew the truth would create chaos within the Sanhedrin, he did not spare the truth for the sake of trying to get along. The resurrection is at the core of our faith, for without the resurrection of Jesus, any faith in him would be useless. True, our sins are forgiven because of his shed blood, but what hope would we have if that is all there is? No, our hope is in the resurrection, as Jesus was the first of many. Paul makes it clear his hope is in the resurrection. What we have a difficult time grasping is why the Sadducees, Jewish by birth, with all the history of their forefathers and their experiences with God would not believe in life after death or the resurrection. However, it reveals again, how so many of the same religion can have such differing views. Yet, we have been called to let our voice be heard, not to be silenced for fear of causing some debate, even violent disputing of what we have said. Sometimes debate, disputing over the difference between truth and traditional thinking or the traditional way of viewing certain scriptures may actually be good, stimulating spiritual growth. Let us always be faithful to the truth, not our view of the truth, but the Spirit's view of the truth, and he will lead us into all of that truth. 

In All Good Conscience

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

IN ALL GOOD CONSCIENCE

Acts 23:1-5

23:1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, "My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day." 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!" 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, "You dare to insult God's high priest?" 5 Paul replied, "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'"

NIV

Paul makes a very bold statement about fulfilling his duty to God in all good conscience to this day. What we know about Paul as a Jew is clear. He testified that he was a Jew of Jews, a Pharisee of Pharisees, from the tribe of Benjamin and that he was a zealot in regard to Judaism. In all good conscience, he obeyed God and even spent much effort in the persecution of the people of the Way. He did not say that he fulfilled the law, that he was perfect in his obedience to the law, but only that he fulfilled his duty to God in all good conscience in regard to the law. Now as a Christian, as one who had an encounter with Jesus, he has a clear conscience in regard to fulfilling his duty to God. What does it mean to have a clear conscience or fulfilling our duty to God in all good conscience to this day? Since we have been Christians, however that happened, as each of us may well have different experiences to remember when we first made that choice personally to follow Jesus. Some of us were raised in a Christian family, but that did not make us Christians, for, at some point in our lives, we have to make that personal choice. Others of us lived as sinners in our earlier years and at some point in our lives, we encountered Jesus, and changed the course of our lives, deciding to follow Jesus. Still, others, may not have encountered Jesus until the later years of life. However, the point is still the same, how do we fulfill our duty to God in all good conscience to this day? What we do know is that without faith it is impossible to please the Lord. We know that great faith chapter 11 of Hebrews and all those men of old were commended because of their faith. They then fulfilled their duty to God in all good conscience, and that leads us to believe that not one ounce of good deeds has anything to do with fulfilling our duty to God. If that were the case, how could we know how many good deeds it takes to fulfill our duty to God in all good conscience? However many good things we have done and will do, that may never be enough, and therefore we would never be able to say that we have fulfilled our duty to God, much less in all good conscience. That is how those who practice Islam live, never knowing if they did enough, and then God makes the judgment anyway, no matter how much they did. No, the only way to please God is through faith in Jesus Christ. We know from Peter’s letter that God is not slow in keeping his promise, that it is his desire that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That is everyone should have a change in their mind, change in their thinking, to come to faith in Jesus Christ. If then we have faith, we have fulfilled our duty to God in all good conscience. Now, that also means that we do whatever God directs us to do, whatever that is, which is simply following Jesus, being his disciple, and acting in accordance with our faith. However, it always comes done to faith so we can fulfill our duty to God in all good conscience. 

Citizenship

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

CITIZENSHIP

Acts 22:23-30

23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and questioned 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 big price for my citizenship." "But I was born a citizen," Paul replied. 29 Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. 30 The next day, since the commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

NIV

There is a special recognition about being a Roman citizen, which Paul now takes advantage of so as not to be flogged, for the purpose of getting the truth out of him. As far as the Commander was concerned Paul was the reason for the uproar throughout the city and the commander’s main duty as the local representative of Rome was to keep the peace. Once he found out that Paul was a Roman citizen all things changed. Although the commander was still going to find out what the deal was with all the Jews being so upset about Paul. The next event will be Paul addressing the whole of the Sanhedrin. But for now, what has struck a chord with us is the citizenship of Paul. Because he was born a Roman citizen, he has a special advantage. We may not have been born a citizen of the kingdom of God, but because we have died and been reborn, we now can say that we have been born a citizen of the kingdom of God. True, we did not physically die, but in order to be reborn, or born again, a death must occur. We would think that is the death of our old self and so our new self is who is born again and born as a citizen of heaven. There are special advantages to being a citizen of the kingdom of God. The first and foremost is that we now have eternal life. Oh sure, the body we inhabit will get old and succumb, and breathe it lasts breathe. But we will not stay within its lifeless form, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and that is only because we have been born into the kingdom of heaven. The commander told Paul that he had paid a big price for his citizenship of Rome. The second advantage we have been reborn as a citizen of the kingdom of God is that it does not cost us, as Jesus already paid the biggest price anyone could ever pay, with his life. He was arrested, flogged, beaten, spat on, and ultimately nailed to the cross. Therefore, it is by faith alone in Jesus Christ that we have the right to be citizens of heaven. For us, the question always arises, which do we claim, to be citizens of this world, or citizens of heaven. we do live in the world, but again, we know that we do not live of the world, that is we have forfeited our citizenship in the world, and we have turned in our passport and travel arrangements to hell. At the moment of our rebirth, we received a new passport and a new ticket to a new destination, heaven. Everything is about our citizenship. 

The Truth Will Set You Free

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE

Acts 22:17-22

17 "When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord speaking. 'Quick!' he said to me. 'Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'  19 "'Lord,' I replied, 'these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.   20 And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.' 21 "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" 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!"

NIV

Paul is still giving his testimony to the mob of Jews who wanted him gone, in fact, that wanted him dead. But they are listening, paying attention until Paul told them the Lord appeared to him again and told him that Jerusalem would not accept Paul’s testimony about Jesus. In essence, Paul was telling them they are a stiffed-neck people as far as Jesus is concerned, or as far as the Jews would think with Paul using the term “Lord” he is speaking about God, who they profess to believe in. They felt Paul was talking about Yahweh, although he did not mention Him, because Paul said he was in the temple and that is where the presence of Yahweh resides, within the holy of holies. So, it would be natural they thought Paul was spoken to by Yahweh, who told him the Jews of Jerusalem would not accept Paul’s testimony about him. Then when they thought that Yahweh would send Paul to the Gentiles, all hell broke loose. Once again, we see the importance of hearing the truth and not our perception of the truth. It is easy to get into the mindset of believing what we want to believe and seeing the scripture through the lens of our preconceived notions, or through the traditional lens that has been passed down to us from past believers. Nothing supersedes our independent study of the word, with an open mind, or rather it would be better to say with an open spirit, allowing the Spirit to lead us into all truth. It is true that we should also listen to those shepherds that God has called and charged with overseeing the spiritual welfare of those God has put under their care, it still behooves us to listen with the gift of discernment, testing everything we hear against the word of God, which can only be done because of our independent study and knowledge of the truth. If we merely listen without discernment, it could be possible to be led astray, as so many have already been led by those silver-tongued perverters of the truth. The Jews were not willing to hear the truth, because they had already accepted the traditional system set up by the law. They had believed this way all their lives and followed their fathers and their fathers followed their fathers and so on for thousands of years, this system was the only truth they knew and were unable to hear anything else. We cannot take that view but must always be in the process of being transformed into his likeness, and that can only be done by looking into the truth of God, hearing from the Spirit, and forgetting what is behind and straining forward toward the prize. That is forgetting the traditional ways of thinking about God, about Jesus, and finding the truth through searching the scriptures with the help of the Spirit. Paul lived that type of life, the Jews did not. Let us not be like the Jews, but more like how Paul lived. When we leave are perceived notices beyond, then the truth can truly set us free.

 

A Testimony

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

A TESTIMONY

Acts 22:8-16

8 "'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. "'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 10 "'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. "'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.'  11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. 12 "A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him. 14 "Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'

NIV

Paul is still speaking, by permission of the Roman commander, to the Jews who had just rioted and were even beating him. He is telling them his testimony, which we dealt with when it happened to him. However, this is still a great testimony that Paul is recounted for their benefit. Although it is generally not good to cling to the past, this is different. If we have always believed that as long as we are chained to our past, we cannot move forward into our future. Paul has made that a point very well when he said to forget that which is behind and strain or press on toward the goal. However, that does not apply to our testimony. It is always a good deed to recount our testimony of how Jesus came into our lives. We have been told on a couple occasions that we are beating a dead horse, as asked what God has done for us more recently. Well, we could recount numerous times both in the past, the near past, and the very near past, when God has been involved in working in and through us. But it is the moment in which we were changed, transformed from a sinner to a saint that is the most dramatic event that has ever happened in our lives. This is what Paul is recounting to the Jews who wanted him dead. He tells them he has life, and life everlasting, maybe not in those exact words, but because the Lord Jesus came to him and changed him forever, from a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there, to this Apostle of Jesus Christ, chosen to hear the words of the Righteous One. There was some symbolism as well in the fact that Saul became blind, to show how he was blind to the truth, but now he can see, after visiting with Ananias and being baptized and having all his sins washed away. This is quite a difference from having to observe the law in an attempt to find righteousness, and simply believing in Jesus and having all our sins washed away. Of course, we follow Jesus through the waters of baptism, as Paul did, and in that sense, publicity proclaiming our burial and resurrection, being changed forever, However, the point is that we should always be ready to recount our moment, our encounter with Jesus when he came personal to call us, to change our lives and even our name forever. We should never forget our testimony, and never fail to retell that story whenever we have the opportunity. 

God Will Find A Way

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GOD WILL FIND A WAY

Acts 22:1-7

22:1 "Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense." 2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: 3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 "About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' 

NIV

It is interesting that although these men had just beaten Paul with the intent of killing him, as he addresses them, he refers to the as brothers and fathers. Paul is calling them fellow Jews as his brethren, but the word translated as fathers, does not mean the paternal father of a son, but rather it is applied to those of the Sanhedrin as well, in the sense they are the Padres of the Jews, looking to the people as their children, under their care. As Paul begins to speak in Aramaic, they become quiet, in a sense giving respect to someone who knows their native language. He makes them know that he is a Jew, just like them, no different, not a stranger, a foreigner, or a dreaded gentile. He is setting the stage for this great testimony of the intervention by Jesus in his life. Of course, this might be thought as just this one-time event where Jesus appears in bright light and speaks directly to someone, intervening in life, changing the course of that life forever. However, God does not change, he will always intervene, and he will always make a way to appear to us, in some sense, showing himself through a miracle, healing, or whatever is needed to reach into a person’s inner being. Paul needed that bright light, I personally needed proof he is real through and put him to the test, asking if he is God then he can perform a miracle. Indeed, that miracle occurred which was beyond the physical science I knew to be true. We think that each believer has had some kind of experience with Jesus, otherwise, what would be the reason to believe? Something has to reach into the heart of someone in order for them to have faith in Jesus Christ. Even if it is as simple as the word of God making sense to them, something within the word, some truth has to reach within for the measure of faith that God gives each person to be awakened. We know God wants all men to come to faith in Jesus. Yet, we also believe that there are certain people who God makes a special effort to reach, such as he did with Paul because of the plans he has for those people, like the plans he had for Paul. Although God desires that we all join in the chorus of spreading the good news, it would seem, he has special people he has designed for very special plans. Nevertheless, God will find a way, when there is no other way. 

Not Staying Silent

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NOT STAYING SILENT

Acts 21:33-40

33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, "Away with him!" 37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, "May I say something to you?" "Do you speak Greek?" he replied. 38 "Aren't you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert some time ago?" 39 Paul answered, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people." 40 Having received the commander's permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic:

NIV

Having stopped the mob mentality which raised such chaos throughout the city and the beating of Paul, the Roman soldiers were going to take Paul to their barracks. This would mean, he may have been arrested, but he was not being taken off to a jail dungeon, such as Peter and Silas were put in stocks in a damp, dark rat-invested inner cell. Although he was bound with two chains. We cannot know the purpose of the chains other then to show the crowd that Paul was under arrest. We will see that the commander was going to have him flogged in order to get answers but let us leave that until it happens. Right now, the crowd is still in an uproar and so much the soldiers had to carry Paul away. We would think Paul would be glad to have escaped the wrath of the mob and just get out of dodge under the protection of Rome. No, not Paul, he wants to speak, so he asks the commander this question. He wants to speak to the crowd, those who wanted to kill him, but Paul is not operating under his own passions, but under the passion of the Spirit. Paul has gotten the permission of the commander of the Roman soldiers to speak to the crowd and he speaks to them in the language of Jesus, and thus the native language they new well, Aramaic. What can we learn from this? Surely, we have not been put in two chains being under arrest by the law controlling our city. We have not been beaten by an angry mob. So can there be any parallels? As we ponder this, we know that in our culture violent mods usually do not get to the point of beating someone. We have seen mobs destroy whole neighborhoods, pilfering and burning stores to the ground. We have seen angry mobs tear down historic statues, and yes, they have even murdered police, acting out their uninformed revenge. However, for the most part we Christians have not been physically assaulted, although some churches have experienced shooters who have killed believers as they worshipped God. But, on the whole, in our country, we are left alone, maybe even ignored, except for those who live so steeped in sin, they cry out for social justice against any moral compass and any type of God centered living. The Lord has spoken this truth. He has said that men love the darkness because of their evil deeds, and they will not come into the light for fear their deeds will be exposed. In a metaphorically sense, they attempt to put us in chains, wanting to silence our voice, saying the bible has no relevance in today’s culture and it is just a book written by men, in an effort to control the masses. We have been accused by some officials of the government that we are weak-minded people, and that Christianity is just a crutch for the weak-minded. However, we take our cue from Paul and say that we must speak, although he asked permission, we may need to ask as well. Instead of just blurting our the truth about Jesus, perhaps we need to ask our potential listeners if we might have a word regarding their situation in life. We might also take a cue from Paul in that if we are granted to speak, it might be better to speak in their native language, instead as coming with words straight from scripture. Either way, our task remains the same, always being ready to give an answer, to speak up, to stand our ground, and always want to speak to the people and never wanting to staying silent. 

Creating An Uproar

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

CREATING AN UPROAR

Acts 21:30-36

30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, "Away with him!"

NIV

Once again, we see this mob mentality as the whole city was aroused. It is not possible for all the people that came running from all directions to know anything at all regarding Paul. This whole uproar was caused by a couple of Jews from the province of Asia. They weren’t even citizens of Jerusalem, but they created such fuss they stirred up a bunch of people around them, and then more and more people ran to join in the uproar, just to join in a riot. This tells us how dangerous the human mind can be, allowing someone else to control its behavior. This situation is no different than what we face with the enemy of our soul. Just a couple of Jews that got their sense of righteousness challenged created a citywide riot, and even caused the temple door to be shut, keeping Paul from being able to go back in. In Fact, they dragged Paul from the temple. However, the comparison is frightening between a few Jews and Satan. Just a few created chaos in the city, and we have to believe most of the people had no idea what the riot was about. Satan comes to us trying to create a riot within us, a revolution within us, to control our behavior. Here is where the danger lies for us. We might not even know who is starting the riot, as many of the people that came running from all directions had no idea who those few Jews were or what the chaos was about, they just joined in. Of course, when the cavalry arrived the crowd stopped beating Paul. Although there is more to this narrative and we will find some interesting events to explore, we cannot help but think about this mob mentality. We must be careful about whose voice we listen to and who is trying to influence our thoughts and the following behavior. We know God is not a God of confusion, and always speaks the truth. We also know that Satan is the father of lies, and he always wants to create confusion and chaos. The Jews did not create chaos because of evil within them, but because their conception of what was right was being challenged. It was about their religious righteousness. The evil one might well attempt to come within the community of faith as a light, as a righteous one, wanting to get us to join in, first in our mind, that something is wrong in the church, if we listen, chaos will ensue, first within ourselves, jealous, envy, our sense of righteousness being offered by something, or someone, gossip begins and soon people from all over the church come running into the fray. No one knows how this church slip happened, or who started it, but mod mentality came from one source. Instead, we should be like-minded, a mob of sorts, however, being a mob that is controlled by the mind of Christ through the power of the Spirit. We would think that if we were all excited together, creating an uproar, that people would come running from all over the city to join in the excitement. Let’s start creating an uproar. 

Resistance is Futile

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

Acts 21:26-29

26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them. 27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, "Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place." 29(They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.)

NIV

After some examination of the scholars of old and finding no common agreement among them regarding this act of purification, we are inclined to listen to the Spirit. It is good to check with those scholars of old, and even a few of our newer scholars to see how they handle this situation. What is interesting is that this whole act of purification by Paul with the four men was a plan devised by James. His intent was to show that Paul was not against the law of the Nazirite, and the act of making a sacrifice, in essence, showing respect for the law of Moses. We are not sure if Paul was completely comfortable with all this, as he certainly did not teach the law of Moses in any of the synagogues he visited in his travels, as well as when he was among the Gentiles. Paul preached Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected. Paul preached repentance, believe in the Lord Jesus and be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Yet here he is either taking the vow himself with the four, or just paying the expenses of the four. But we are told that he took the men and purified himself along with them. However, the plan of James backfires and Paul is accused of preaching against the law of Moses, all the while he is showing himself as following their customs. It is not uncommon for Paul to act in accordance with the custom. He testifies regarding himself:

1 Cor 9:19-23

19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

NIV

We would have to say that Paul is not acting counter to his own beliefs regarding Jesus Christ and the gospel. However, with this plan backfiring, the Jews in Jerusalem are all up in arms against Paul, declaring he teaches against the law of Moses. There are always going to be those who hate the truth, and these Jews are no different. It would seem times have not changed in that there will always be those who have closed their minds to anything they do not like, or that would require a change in their belief system, including their laws and customs they have put their trust in. Nevertheless, there is a lesson for us as well. We need to always remain open-minded, or rather open-spirited, to hear the truth and make the changes in our lives that are needed. We must remember that we are always being, the is in a constant state of being transformed into his likeness, with ever-increasing glory. This must mean that we cannot be the same, with the same mindset, doing the same thing, acting in the same manner as we did yesterday or last week, because we are in the act of transforming. Those who remain closed-minded, like those Jews who struck out at Paul by stirring up others to have the same hatred, seized Paul, will strike out at us. Perhaps not like those Jews, seizing us, but they will resist change, and may even speak out against the truth because of their customary thinking. We must stay strong and always speak for the truth no matter what men may say. However, we know that resistance to the truth is futile. 

Truth or Tradition

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

TRUTH OR TRADITION

Acts 21:20-25

20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."

NIV

This is the beginning of a long narrative of the events that happened to Paul in Jerusalem. It is interesting to consider the many thousands of Jews who believed. We know that on the day of Pentecost when Peter stood up and gave that magnificent sermon, three thousand accepted his message and believed in Jesus, and were baptized. Thousands more came to know Jesus as the Christ as we would have to believe that from that day with three thousand being saved, the word of the Lord kept growing in Jerusalem with thousand more coming to faith in Christ. However, what is troubling is they still observed the law of Moses, at least about circumcision, festivals, sacrifices, the distinction of meats and days, such as not eating pork, etc. How is it that Jesus came to abolish the law, and yet believers in Jesus still followed portions of the law? The Apostles and the leaders in Jerusalem rejoiced that Paul did so much among the Gentiles, but as far as Jews were concerned, they wanted him to show that he was living in accordance with the law. This is just foolishness, to try to live by that which does not bring either life or righteousness, all the while professing to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. We still have to remember it has been about twenty-five years after that day of Pentecost by the reckoning of some scholars. We would think that the truth would have won over the traditions of the law, but it had not and they wanted Paul to join in the purification rites with four men, as well as pay for their expenses. The fact that there was a cost to underdo the act of purification shows us they really did not understand the truth that is it faith in Jesus Christ that makes us pure and blameless in the sight of God. But these believers were not concerned with what was right in the sight of God as much as they were about what was right in the sight of men, and these were the leaders of the church. It has been some thousands of years later and we still have believers who want to adhere to portions of the law, even though Jesus fulfilled all the laws and so that if we are in Christ and he is in us, we have fulfilled all the law, and thus are no longer subject to it. Jesus said when questioned about the commands of God, that only two commands remain. One is to love the Lord our God with all our being, and the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus was clear when he said that all the laws and the words of the prophets hang on these two commands. However, here we are today with so many not paying attention to these two commands, but what to hang onto the old commands of God, even creating some of their own laws or rules and regulations that by abiding by them, show themselves to be Christians before men. But God does not care about us living to please men, but only living to please him. There is no way to please God by forgoing what he did for us by sending his Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and through Jesus, he redeemed us and set us free from both the penalty of sin and the law, which does not bring us righteousness. We have to go back to Abraham, a man before the law was given, who believe what God said and acted only to please God, and because of that, it was counted unto him as righteousness. When then do we want anything to do with any part of the law, except those two commands of Jesus? Why do we want to please men when we should be pleasing God? If we are righteous in the eyes of God because of our faith in Jesus, why then must we follow any law, appearing to be righteous before men? No, let us remain faithful to God, and God alone, living a life of faith and faith alone. Of course, because we love the Lord, we are going to put our faith into action, and that would be loving our neighbors as ourselves. We cannot confuse faith in action with good works done in the church, for that is simply our being a part of the body, but the works, putting faith in action happens among the crooked and depraved generation in which we live. It always comes back to truth or tradition. 

Hospitality

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

HOSPITALITY

Acts 21:15-19

15 After this, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples. 17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly. 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

NIV

What can we learn from this narrative? It appears to be one of those travelog events again. However, it is notable some of the disciples made the trip from Caesarea to Jerusalem so as to give Paul and his accompanies a reference for a home to stay in. How did the disciples from Caesarea know this disciple from Cyprus now made his home in Jerusalem? They did not have any of the methods of communication we do today, yet they knew this man in another town who had the gift of hospitality. Once again, that was a different culture at a different time. It might be rare for us to take in a stranger on the word of we knew from another town. But that is the gift of hospitality at work. This Mnason received Paul and his companions warmly. He gave them shelter and most likely feed them caring for their welfare. Certainly, he would have attended to washing the feet of Paul and his companions, unless he was a wealthy disciple who had at least one servant to do the feet washing. Either way, that would have been done. The second notable event here is that the next day Paul went to see James and all the elders that were present. We do not know how long it took Paul to recount his travels, could have been hours, but then this was the only method of reporting good news. We will find that James and the elders, praised God for all the new believers all over the area. Again, this is people praising God because other people, Gentiles at that, had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Today, the church is expanding, even exploding in numbers in countries around the world, yet for the most part, we only have eyes for our own church. Of course, we do have visits from different missionaries our church gives toward their support, so they come to thank and share, or give and report in detail what God had done among those through their ministry, but we limit them to just a few minutes because we have other things to do. So maybe their report isn’t in that much detail. Again, in a different culture and at a different time, still we could learn a little more about hospitality. 

The Lord's Will Be Done

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE LORD’S WILL BE DONE

Acts 21:7-14

7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day. 8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. 10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'" 12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will be done."

NIV

First things first. At  Caesarea, we find Philip, one of the original seven deacons chosen in the early days, when the Apostles decided there was a need for deacons to take care of food distribution, and Philip was one of them. Just like Stephen, Philip did more than wait on tables as we later found him walking along and meeting the Ethiopian eunuch and brought him to Jesus and baptized him, the poof, God whisked him away. Philip must have settled down in Caesarea because he had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. What is interesting about this narrative is that it would appear many people are concerned about the welfare of Paul. We noticed earlier others warning him, beseeching him, not to go to Jerusalem for fear of his life. Now Agabus a prophet who came from Judea, once again to warn Paul. This time Agabus showed Paul how things would happen if he went to Jerusalem, and he quoted the Holy Spirit. We would think by now, Paul would have gotten the message and changed his plans, heading back out on the missionary field instead of heading to Jerusalem. But no, not Paul, he knows what he must do. It is not as though this is his plan without consulting with the Lord. Paul has this confidence in the direction of the Lord. He knows, without reservation, that the Lord has plans for him in Jerusalem, even if it means his death, for to Paul, death holds no string, for Jesus already won that battle against death, by his resurrection, and is the first of many. Paul knew and believed in the resurrection, so death was just a step into eternity with Jesus. With Paul’s commitment shown to all who were attempting to persuade him not to go to Jerusalem, they concluded, “The Lord’s will be done.” This is where that should have started in the first place. It always must come down to the Lord’s will be done.   We need to live in this same manner, concerned foremost, that the Lord’s will be done in and through our lives. Many people attempted to alter the course of Paul’s journey to Jerusalem, but he would not permit anyone from interjecting their will over God’s will. It matters not how many people attempt to persuade us to do this or that, including our ministry and our service to the community of faith. If we know what God’s will is, then we must do his will, not ours, and now anyone else’s. It must always be about “The Lord’s will be done.”

 

Faith in Action

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FAITH IN ACTION

Acts 21:1-6

21:1 After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Cos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. 2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. 4 Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6 After saying good-by to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

NIV

This is a real travel log and on the surface that appears to be all this is. However, there is one comment that Luke makes about what happened when they landed at Tyre. Because of the ship having to unload its burden, they must have had time to wander around the city or at least the port area and in doing so they found some disciples. Here again, we find that it is not unusual for Paul to simply stay for seven days. We would not even consider such a layover in our travels, just to visit with a fellow Christian. We might consider a couple of hours, maybe, but not seven days. For one, we would have to do laundry and pay for dinner out at least once or twice for the hospitality of whoever it is we are staying seven days with. Again, then we have to consider if we would be that hospitable if someone from our past showed up and said they were going spend seven days with us on their way to another destination. That fact that our friend of the past didn’t even come specifically to see us, but just found out we live in a place on the way to their desired location. Times have changed a lot within the community of faith, mostly because of the culture. Still, we noticed one point that serves as a lesson. If their urging Paul not to go to Jerusalem was through the Spirit, why did he not pay attention to the Spirit? Had the Spirit given Paul a different direction other than through their urging through the Spirit? We know the Spirit is not confused, or double-handed, so if they heard the Spirit and through Paul should not go to Jerusalem, we must conclude that Paul had his own plans and did not want to listen to the Spirit, which is very weird indeed. We do not know what they all prayed when all the disciples, their wives, and children followed Paul and his companions out of the city. Perhaps for Paul to have a safe journey, or whatever, but the point is they prayed together before he left them. They knelt and prayed on the beach, in the open, in front of whoever was around, as this was the place the ship was anchored. It would appear, there was no dock, but as in some cases, the ship would set anchor close to a beach, and then cargo would be unloaded onto small vessels to be carried to shore. Nevertheless, they prayed not paying any attention if someone around could hear them. We could learn a lesson about being that bold, as to pray in public with someone who needed our prayers. This is faith in action and therefore their faith was not dead. 

Committed to God and His Grace

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

COMMITTED TO GOD AND HIS GRACE

Acts 20:32-38

 32 "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" 36 When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

NIV

We must remember that Paul is still speaking to the elders from Ephesus, giving them his final instructions before he makes his way back to Jerusalem. As he commits them to God and the word of his grace, we must know that we too have been committed to God and his grace. For these elders from Ephesus their being committed to God was due to the words of Paul, who spoke with the authority of God. We would think that one can commit themselves to God and to His grace, however, in this post-modern church, it takes a group of men who have been chosen to interview someone and then having either the authority of the denomination and perhaps of God, to declare or commit a shepherd to God and his grace. Whichever way it happens it is still up to the individual to live committed to God and his grace. If the shepherd, the pastor, does commit himself to God then he will be built up and will have an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. But what does “be committed to God” look like? We might take one of the clues from Paul in that he did not covet anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. We might take another clue from Paul, in that by his own hands he supplied his own needs as well as the needs of his companions. We know that Paul was a tent maker, as for a while he partnered with Aquila and Priscilla. He also demonstrated that by his hard work; he helped the weak. One more clue that we see is that Paul remembered and reminded the elders, the shepherds of the flock in Ephesus that Jesus taught that it was more blessed to give and receive. How does this all fit into the qualifications in the post-modern church for being one of the shepherds, or pastors in a local church? There is no question about being committed to God and his grace. But again, what does that look like? It must at least include putting God first in our lives, above all the gold, silver, and clothing in this world. It must also appear we are to work by our own hands, but that is not the case in most local churches where pastors are paid for their commitment to God. As far as helping the weak, that could be seen in a spiritual sense, that the pastor should teach the grace of God, building up those whose faith is weak. This may be the only way to see this in the post-modern church, for it would be a rare case that a pastor would labor outside the church and use his resources to give physical or monetary help to those who are in need. So then how does the local pastor or pastors function in the church today? Has the rule of shepherd evolved over time and no longer looks like the example and instructions of Paul. In fact, in his letter to Timothy, Paul lays out the express requirements for shepherds of the church.

1 Tim 3:1-7

3:1 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

NIV

There is much we could comment on, yet we will let Paul’s letter speak for itself. All we know is that first, and foremost, we must commit ourselves to God. If we do that, we believe all else will fall neatly into place. Without the committed to God and his grace, none of the rest would really matter, for it would be useless and unfruitful.

 

 

Guarding The Truth

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GUARDING THE TRUTH

Acts 20:25-31

 25 "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men.   27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

 NIV

Having considered the first part about proclaiming and being innocent of the blood of all men, we now must deal with what Paul says strictly to the overseers. Our first responsibility is to keep watch over ourselves. Then, secondly, it is to keep watch, over the flock of which God has made us overseers. There are two parts to that statement. The first is that we must keep watch over the flock of God, the people of God, the local church of whom the Lord has called and made us to be its overseer.  This can only mean that we cannot make ourselves the overseers of the local church, that we can only become an overseer, a shepherd of the flock by the calling and making of God. This then is the command of God that because he has made us to be shepherds of the flock we must therefore serve as the shepherds, the pastors of the local church. This also gives us the insight to see those who only serve themselves by deceiving believers, so as to build a large following to support their lavish lifestyle as nothing more than savage wolves that do not spare the flock. The truth about these savage wolves is that they were once Godly men, who betrayed the truth they once knew for the love of money, or to build themselves up or they might have been deceived by Satan who is the enemy of our souls. Either way, we must be on guard against them, as well as guard ourselves and the flock God has made us overseers of from that same deception. There will always be those who will twist the truth just enough so that it appears as the truth, but it is nothing more than lies. Let us always be on guard against such lies, and always be faithful to the truth, always guarding the truth.

 

The Whole Will of God

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE WHOLE WILL OF GOD

Acts 20:25-31

 25 "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men.   27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

NIV

We do want to remember that Paul had sent word to Ephesus for the elders there to come to Miletus so that he could give them some final remarks as he was sure that he would never come to see them again, although we know that he did write them a letter sometime later. We do wonder if we can claim that we are innocent of the blood of all men. We do know that we do not hesitate to proclaim the truth of God, however, we wonder if we proclaim the whole will of God to all men. It would seem the time and culture of then and now are so entirely different that we wonder if it is even possible to declare the whole will of God to all men. Our culture is so filled with the hustle and bustle of life with people completely engrossed in the various methods of social media, they have no time or no interest in spending any time at all in personal one-on-one conversations about anything, much less the whole will of God. In Paul’s time, there were no such distractions, no cell phones, no television, or other electronic devices to isolate themselves from personal encounters. In fact, while Paul was in Athens, he was invited to speak before the stoics and epicureans, for they enjoyed debates and philosophical discussions, for that is how they spent their time. This does not happen for various reasons, as it could be seen as offensive to someone or a small segment of our society and thus a public discussion, even a personal discussion could be interpreted as offensive. Yet we have been called to be like shining stars in the universe, and to be the light of the world. We will get to his words of wisdom to the elders of the church, but we cannot overlook this first part of his words to them which should apply to most, if not all, of us believers. Yet, again, this was Paul and he was called to be this Apostle of God to the gentiles and maybe certainly all of us are not called to be an apostle or an evangelist on the road declaring the whole will of God. Still, it strikes a chord within our hearts that we are called to go into all the world and preach the good news. Again, that may not mean physically traveling the roads of the world, although that is what Jesus expected his disciples to do. However, we can apply that in our culture in that we can go into the world of business, retail, the trades, the professional world, medical, law, engineering, education, and so many others so that we are spread out all over our culture, thus being able to personally encounter people in our portion of the world. In those places, we can speak the whole will of God, perhaps not all in one breath, but over time, being light and shining stars, we can gradually be innocent of the blood of all men. But if we remain silent, then what?  

Being Compelled

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BEING COMPELLED

Acts 20:22-24

 22 "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

NIV

First, we must come to terms with being compelled by the Spirit. Paul was a man who was driven to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. Of course, Paul had an extraordinary experience when Jesus appeared to him in that bright light, which none of his traveling companions saw, however, they did hear a voice, who was Jesus speaking to Saul. Since his conversion, he has been compelled by the Spirit in all he has done and places he has gone. We remember the time he wanted to go into a region and the Spirit would not allow him. This is the life of a believer, or at least it should be. Do we live and act as though we are compelled by the Spirit? Did the Spirit only work that way in Paul’s life? How can that been since we know that God does not change and the Spirit is God, therefore, He does not change and therefore we must conclude that it is the Spirit’s desire that we are compelled by him to do the task which we have been called to do as well as go where he is compelling us to go. This could be opposed to our own will of wanting to do and go in meeting our own desires. For the most part, do we want to live according to our own choices in life? Have we taken liberty about choices because we believe that God has given us a free will? But that freedom is about whether we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Once we made the free choice to follow Jesus and we were baptized in the Spirit, then He has come to dwell within us. Does he just dwell within us be a tag alone, or is his dwelling for the purpose of leading us into all truth? Because he wants to lead us, then we must pay close attention to his voice within and then we would understand want being compelled is all about. Are we in the place he has compelled us to be? Are in the local church he has compelled us to be? Are we ministering according to his compulsion, or are doing everything according to our will? The second question that comes to us is whether we consider our life nothing compared to accomplishing that which God has called us to, or as Paul put it, finishing the race. This would fly in the face of the normal life in our current culture where at a certain age, we feel the need to retire, sitting back to relax? How can anyone retire from the compelling of the Spirit? How can we consider our life worth more than finishing the race, which would mean that age matters not, but only that we finish the race. We cannot image any other finishing line other than our stepping into the presence of our Lord, after our last breath. This would then lead us to believe that we must always be aware of the compelling work of the Spirit within us.