By The Will of God

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

BY THE WILL OF GOD

Rom 1:8-10

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

NIV

This will be a devotion of a different type, in the sense that I am going to write in the first person, as I was so moved upon waking this morning praying over this last statement of Paul’s. Paul said that he prayed that by the will of God, or God’s will a way may be opened for him to come to the church in Rome. This is a time far ahead of Paul’s arrest and trial before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa ending in his appeal to Caesar and being taken to Rome as a prisoner. Paul was waiting for God to make a way before he would travel there on a missionary trip. As I thought about God’s will, or by the will of God, I was reminded of how many somewhat momentous events happened in my life by the will of God. First and foremost was how He interjected himself in my life. I was not all that interested in the God of the Christians, as I considered the idea of a God. I lived almost entirely for myself. Although I had dabbled in Yogi, Buddhism, and Zen, I had found all the loopholes, the faults, and so I was just a wanderer in this world, with no focus, no aim, but to satisfy myself. Then God came with a force I have never reckoned with ever before. The story is long, but I knew in my heart, through a physical or I should say, a chemical miracle, defining the science of photography I am degreed in. It was by his will that I was saved, of that, I have no doubt. Then, it was by the will of God, as well as his voice, that I am absolutely confident of hearing, that I was to have a new home in the suburbs of Chicago. As we lived in a rented two-flat in the city, and the area was no longer safe for our daughter to walk to a store, that once was safe. After asking God what I should do is when he told me he would give me this new home in the Suburbs. By faith, we traveled to the burbs, which we were totally unfamiliar with in an area of two-lane blacktop roads. As we drove down the road, we spotted a white dove, not a mourning dove, a white dove sitting on a wall of a small bridge over a creek. As we came up from this little valley there was a housing development being built. To make a long story short we picked the nicest, biggest one out and gave the salesman a check that could not clear the bank for one hundred dollars to secure a beginning of this new home. We needed three thousand by Friday, of which we did not have. By the will of God, through a very long story, and through a completely unexpected means, on Thursday night, I received a call telling me that I was to receive three thousand dollars. Praise the Lord, it was by his will we had that house built and moved in and lived there for twenty-seven years. What made all this an absolute act by the will of God, was the day I had to close on the house and move in, that day I received a promotion at work in which the increase in wages was exactly the same as our monthly mortgage. The next monumental event was when I was fifty-seven years old and owned my own business. In the year two thousand, in the month of November, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I had a massive heart attack and through another long story, although the doctor said that I should have died, by the will of God, I did not, for he had other plans for me. Once again, visiting Ohio to see our daughter, the ladies decided to spend the day looking at model homes. I had no intention or interest in looking at any home, as I was completely content in the home I was in, by the will of God. Yet, as I walked into one of the last model homes we were to visit, by the will of God, and by his voice, which I heard say, “Move here”, I picked out one of the homes, walked a lot and knew in my deepest inner being, that it was by the will of God that I should move here, and here I will stay by the will of God unless I hear him tell me otherwise. Again and again, I could testify that my life is by the will of God and that if I were to record all that he has done for me and in me and through me, I would have to write a book. Yet, this gives just a sample of living by the will of God. I pray that I will always be where and that doing what I do, is by the will of God. 

God is My Witness

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

GOD IS MY WITNESS

Rom 1:8-10

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

NIV

Well, having dealt with everything that seems to be able to deal with, however, there I one more concept that we must consider. When Paul stated that God is his witness to how constantly he remembers them in his prayers at all times, we must consider what God witnesses about us. We know that God testified about David that he has found a man after his own heart and that David would do everything God tells him to do. We also know that even though David sinned as king, it was said that his throne over Israel would last forever. This was prophetic regarding Jesus fulfilling the throne of David and that he came through the line of David, with both Joseph and Mary being descendants of David. God has testified about David, and Paul says that God is his witness. What we wonder, as we first said, what is God’s testimony regarding us. We do know that because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have the right to be called a child of God. In that sense, God witnesses that we are his sons and daughters. But what about our life in this world? What is it that God would witness about how we live? Are we anything like David in the sense that our heart is after God? Can God testify that he found us after his own heart and that we will do whatever he tells us to? Can we say that God is our witness and that we constantly remember others in our prayers are all times? Perhaps we might spend too much of our prayers spent on our own needs or wants. We remember a little prayer we know some Christians either learned as children or taught their children. “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord, my soul, to take” There are seven times in that short little prayer that either I or me are mentioned, making that prayer solely about self. Are we teaching our children to be so self-centered that God would not be able to be a witness to how they constantly pray for others? Surely, Paul had needs, but he said that he had learned to be content, that he has had times of plenty and times with want. This is a learned lifestyle, one that requires study as we learn to know more and more about God and learn to want to do his will, to be the person that will do everything he tells us to do. We also come back to this question, what can God be a witness to in our lives?  

Whole Heart

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

WHOLE HEART

Rom 1:8-10

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

NIV

We are still stuck in this introduction because there are several more points that we are to consider. After pondering the idea of thanking God through Jesus Christ and thanking him for all the other believers. Then we considered that point about their faith being known all over the world, and how that relates to whether our faith is known at all by anyone. We now must look at those words of Paul when he said that it is God whom he serves with his whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son. We need to reexamine our hearts and see if we are serving God with the whole of it. What that means is it is not appropriate to have a divided heart. But what does that mean? Indeed, we must spend time and be concerned about our normal daily lives. Even Paul took time to work as a tent maker, in fact, for a while he was in partnership with Priscilla and Aquila, as we saw in the record of the Acts of the Apostles. Therefore, having to live our daily lives, working, shopping for groceries, and clothes, paying bills, caring for the things around the house, cleaning, cooking, mowing lawns, etc. we simply do not have time to serve God every moment of the day, unless all that we do, we do in the name of the Lord. We are supposed to work in our jobs as onto the Lord, so then could not all that we do be about doing it as onto the Lord? Sometimes that gets a little vague in the sense that we might watch a program on the TV, or a sports game, golf, football, basketball, etc. Can that be done in the name of the Lord? Then what about when we fail, we fall short somehow and do something that would be a sin? How do we serve our Lord God with our whole hearts? Perhaps the key is in preaching the gospel of his Son. After all, we cannot preach have-hearted for that would be a travesty. We also cannot preach the gospel with a divided heart. Again, what does that divided heart look like? Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters, and it is in the direct context of either serving God or serving money, which he was dealing with the idea of storing up money on earth for our own future pleasures, or storing up things in heaven, for our eternal future pleasures. If we are trying to do both, then perhaps our hearts might be just slightly divided.  Do we dare say that anything we put our trust in on this earth could be somewhat of an idol? We must set aside our whole hearts just for Jesus. We have been told if there is anything true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, think about such things. When we ponder all those adjectives, we can see the only one described is Jesus. There is nothing or nobody who fits any of those descriptions. Nothing or no one other than Jesus is true, pure, noble, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Therefore, as we are always walking in his light, and always have him on our minds and heart in whatever we are doing, then we might be able to say that we serve him with our whole hearts. 

Known Faith

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

KNOWN FAITH

Rom 1:8-10

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

NIV

Now that we are thanking God through Jesus Christ for all the believers that we personally know as well as all those we do not know, we should look at two more thoughts that come to our mind. First, they reason Paul thanks God for them, is because of their faith which was being reported all over the world. We wonder how in a time when there was no cell phone, television, radio, internet and thus no Twitter, Instagram, or any other of our modern means of spreading the news about the faith of a local church, how did the whole world hear of the report of their faith? Nevertheless, Paul says their faith is known all over the world, or at least the known area of the world Paul was aware of.  We do wonder if our personal faith is known by anyone other than those who attend the same church we do? Even then, are they fully aware of our faith? Is anyone reporting, or witnessing to others about our faith? It would seem the reason the faith of the church in Rome is so well known is that they were living their faith out loud, that is their actions were motivated by their faith. That would be both in their deeds within and without the church. Without getting into a dissertation on what consists of deeds, some type of behavior, or activity of theirs was the evidence of their faith. Surely faith causes a personal transformation for faith always insists transformation happens. Faith causes a complete change; a metamorphosis is a person’s life. Surely faith causes us to live differently than the rest of the world. Faith causes our language to change from what it was when we spoke as one from the world, as they of the world do not believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Then we must ask ourselves if we are outspoken in our new language which is motivated by our faith. Do we witness about Jesus to everyone we are able to encounter? The second thought is interwoven into this thought about faith. Paul said that God, whom he served with his whole heart is his witness. We will leave this God witness for later, as we want to focus on the transformation that occurred in Paul’s life and how that translates into our lives. For Paul to change from persecuting the people of the Way to being one of the most powerful witnesses for Jesus Christ is surely an example or witness of his deed of faith. We know that sounds strange to think that faith is a deed, but we think of those words of Jesus when he was asked what a man must do to do the works that God requires. Jesus said the works, or deeds that God requires is to believe in the one He sent. Paul certainly believed, in being transformed by the God. This is just another truth that awakens within. We cannot cause any transformation, or any change in our lives. Only God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit brings about this change in us because we decided to believe. We decided to exercise the measure of faith that God has given to us, for he gives every person a measure of faith. This means we cannot even have faith without God. Once again, we think we could go on forever with these thoughts, creating a book instead of a devotion. However, we do wonder how much is our faith known by others? 

Attitude of Thankfulness

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

ATTITUDE OF THANKFULNESS

Rom 1:8-10

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

NIV

First things, first and that is all about thanking God through Jesus Christ. Although this 'thinking' is something we need to focus on because we are to thank God for all the other believers. However, before we delve into the idea of thanking God for all the believers, we have to take note that Paul is saying that he thanks God through Jesus Christ. This may be the first time we noticed this although we have read this passage numerous times over the years. It is interesting how this small Greek word dia, puts everything in context. It is a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act. Therefore, it would seem right that it would be less appropriate to good directly to God the Father to thank him than it would go through Jesus Christ as we thank the Father. How that looks exactly is still in need of some pondering so as to get ahold or grasp the pure meaning here. Perhaps the more correct, if there is any one correct way to respond or to engage in prayer with the Father, it would seem to us, that we might say something along this way, “ Father we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ and we want to thank you for all the fellow believers we both know personally or at least are acquainted with, as well as all those who we personally have no knowledge about, yet we are aware there are many believers throughout the world". If we take our cue from Paul, it would seem that he did not know any of those believers in Rome, as he had yet to come to Rome when he appealed his case to Caesar. So, he is thanking God through Jesus Christ for believers he does not have any personal contact with. From our research, it appears most biblical scholars put Paul in Corinth, in his third missionary Journey when he wrote this letter to the fairly new church established in Rome, which it seems no one is sure who founded. It is thought that perhaps some believing Jews after that day of Pentecost traveled back to their original locations where some Jews may have been living in Rome. Leaving Jerusalem, they returned to Rome and started a small home church that grew and grew to a point that it was well known around the known world, which Paul mentions. However, before we consider that, we need to stay on point about thanking God through Jesus Christ for all other believers. We think that if we are always in an attitude of thankfulness for other believers, it would or should eliminate attitudes like, jealousy, envy, bitterness, and unforgiveness, which come from holding some sort of grudge, which results or is the result of hurt feelings. Once again, taking our cue from Paul, we should always have an attitude of thankfulness for all who have faith in Jesus Christ. 

Perfect Peace

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

 PERFECT PEACE

Rom 1:7-10

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

NIV

Having digressed thoroughly regarding the Greek word, Charis, as translated as grace, we need to consider this word peace. How is this word seen through the eyes of the New Testament believer living in Rome? This is the Greek word eireenee, which carries a variety of meanings depending on the context. The most obvious meaning is the state of national tranquility being free from the rage and havoc of war. But that is not how Paul used this word. He could have meant the peace that is between individuals, that is having harmony among all believers, all being in one accord, or having the mind of Christ, which comes from the Hebrew word Shaalowm. However, the more recent regard of that word Peace includes the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from Good and content with its earthly lot, whatsoever sort that is. Paul uses the word peace several times in this letter. Once he uses it in the context of the blessed state of devout and upright men after death. This is seen in 2:10. Then he uses it in 8:6 in the sense of that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ. So he could have meant any of those conditions in his salutation regarding the grace and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus whichever the meaning in this opening statement we can be assured that peace always comes from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. This would mean that there is no way whatsoever that we will ever find any sort of peace either in this world or within our own souls. We know that man’s heart, which was the state we were once in, is bent toward evil all of the time. We also know that none of us in and of ourselves can find any righteousness. But in this scenario, we are looking only at peace, which is impossible for us to ever attain in this flesh. We will always be in turmoil, in chaos, filled with anxiety and a troubled mind. The only source of peace is in God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. All we know is that Paul desired this peace that comes from is for the believers to experience. We also know that the peace that comes from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ is available to all of us. What we must do is accept this peace, for we have that choice to accept it or let it slide and feel the unrest that the world has to offer. We have decided to enjoy the peace that God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ desire us to have. There is also one other application we mentioned at first in which the Greek word eireenee is used, and that is being in harmony with someone or having harmony between two individuals. Therefore, Paul could also have meant that we can have harmony with God, or that God has put us in harmony with him, or he has put himself in harmony with us. But either way, we are not at odds with God, nor is he at odds with us. We have perfect peace between us. 

Grace

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

GRACE

Rom 1:7-10

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

NIV

We are still in the salutation or introduction portion of this letter and we find the typical phrase that Paul uses in many of his letters. Before we explore that phrase we should note that he is writing to those who are loved by God and called to be saints. This would mean because this letter has been preserved and included in the canon, we can say this letter was written to us as well. Although we were not among those in Rome, we take these words as directed toward us because we are, indeed, loved by God and we have been called by God to be saints through faith in Jesus. We have been called to believe in Jesus as the Son of God who came to pay the price for our sins and took our place on that cross. However, that was not the end of the story, for after he died for us, he was buried and then was resurrected for us, and finally ascended for us, to sit at the right hand of the father continually making intercession for us. Everything God did from the beginning was for us, although everything is about Him. Nevertheless, we are assured and confident that we are loved by God and are saints, holy and blameless in his sight. It is interesting the Greek word translated as saints is hagios, which means sacred, physically, pure, morally blameless, or religious, ceremonially, consecrated. This is all by the will and action of God, for it is He who started this good work in us, and it is He who will bring that work to completion. All we can do is have faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, yielding to the work of the Spirit within us. As far as this phrase: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”, we have to explore this in Greek to fully grasp the fullest of these words. However, as we do, we must see them through the eyes or hearts of those who are in Rome who understood the Greek of that day and so we must see these two words, grace and peace as they would have. First, the Greek word translated as grace is charis, which has a direct meaning of graciousness. They would have understood it to mean that grace affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, and loveliness. They may also have understood that because of this act of graciousness of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, or what is due to this grace, is the divine influence upon their hearts, as well as ours, and how that is reflected in our lives. We could also say that because of grace, it is the spiritual condition of those who are governed by divine influence. This leads us to the question: how well do we do in being governed by divine influence? Sure, God is doing the influencing, he is always about exhibiting grace toward us, but how well do we accept that influence is the key. Do we rear our ugly heads and want things our way, being influenced by our own minds, or emotions, rather than living by the grace of God? Do we close our hearts to his influence and follow our own feelings? We think it comes down to having that circumcised heart which again, is an action of God, which exposes the most tender part of us to his influence. King David gives us insight into this condition, and he said: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”

 

Grace and Apostleship

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

GRACE AND APOSTLESHIP

Rom 1:1-6

1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

NIV

Having dealt, at least in part, with the two natures of Christ and how they relate to us, we now consider this receiving grace and apostleship. We know that within the New Testament the word apostle is meant to be applied to the office and dignity of apostle exclusive to the twelve and, of course now, Paul. However, when we look at the purpose of what Paul says in his apostleship, which is to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith, we wonder how exclusive is that word apostle. First, the Greek word apostolee has the direct meaning of sending away. However, that form of the Greek word Apostolos is only translated as apostleship, while Apostolos is directed meant as a messenger, a delegate sent with orders. This is the word applied throughout the New Testament to those twelve Jesus chose. In the broader sense, it has been applied to other eminent Christian teachers, such as Barnabas and Paul. We wonder although we are not distinguished, renowned, esteemed, or noteworthy teachers regarding Christ, could it still be used of us because we have been sent with authority to speak to people about Christ. It would seem the word witness would be more applicable, however, we have no doubt that we have received the same grace that Paul did. Still, we are called to tell the story about Christ, and we are called to tell people that can belong to Christ. It is far better to belong to Christ, than the only other alternative, belonging to Satan. No man belongs to himself, for our self is nothing more than a creation of God, who never intended for man to belong to anyone other than himself. This idea of being our own man, which is portrayed in that sound which includes the phrase, “I did it my way” is simply false, a lie perpetuated by the father of lies, Satan. He does not openly demand allegiance, but merely is happy enough for a man to reject belonging to Christ and think they are their own person, living according to their way. Nevertheless, we are not like those people, for we are assured and confident that we are children of God, and belong to Christ Jesus. At the same time, have we not been sent with orders from Jesus to tell others about the grace of God, the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? In addition, we wonder specifically about those of us who have been called to serve as overseers, pastors, elders, deacons, missionaries, evangelists, or others called to serve in another capacity and are not in some sense able to be seen as an apostle, with a lower-case a, or course. Paul had a conversion experience for the purpose of God, to send him to the Gentiles. We have had a conversion experience and it is not for our own satisfaction of knowing we are saved from the pits of hell, and we have eternal life in Jesus. No, we have had a conversion, a transformation from being a self-satisfying, deceived follower of Satan, even if by default, into a devoted follower of Christ, with a purpose. God has not called us to live for ourselves but to live for Christ. God did not call us to just sit and soak or isolate ourselves from those who do not know Christ, and only associate, and socialize with other believers. Have we not been sent forth into all the world, or are we just supposed to huddle together, as a little band of brothers and sisters, to encourage each other in our faith? We wonder what if we have been given the same grace as Paul that we also have not been given or at least seen by God, as one of his apostles. 

Two Natures

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

TWO NATURES

Rom 1:1-6

1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

NIV

In the very beginning of this letter, Paul writes to those who are loved by the Lord in Rome and called to be saints, has so much theology, we might be considering this for several days. First, we need to explore this truth about the two natures of Christ, his human nature and his spiritual nature. Paul makes it clear that in human nature Jesus is a descendant of David. We understand both Joseph and Mary were physical descendants of David, although Joseph had nothing to do with being involved in the human nature of Jesus. The only thing that counts is that Mary was in the line of David for Jesus was conceived by the Spirit, which in itself is both wonderful and awesome to think about. Here is the Son of God who was from the beginning or at least the beginning of time as God established for our benefit, coming to earth and taking up the form of an embryo within the womb of a young virgin girl. Here he grows just like every other human into an infant and thus we have the birth story of Jesus coming in the form of man. For God to change himself so as to become a human in the same manner as all humans come into this world is too awesome to fully comprehend. It is interesting how the Father decided to have the Spirit conceive Jesus with the womb of Mary, still, the whole idea that Jesus, who was the one who created all that is created who was always and ever was, who had no beginning, changed himself, or reduced himself into the smallest of cells containing the DNA of the Spirit and Mary. Thus Jesus was fully man, having the DNA of Mary and he was fully God having his own DNA by the Spirit, the very same Spirit who hovered over the waters at the beginning of the creation. It is interesting that Paul mentions that Jesus was declared the with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. Why would Jesus have to wait to be declared to be the Son of God until he was resurrected? He was always the Son of God, even before time existed. The Father knew Jesus was His Son, the Spirit knew Jesus was the Son, and surely Jesus knew he was the Son of the Father. But us mere humans in our meager understanding of all things concerning God, needed some form of spiritual power revealing Jesus to be the Son of God to all humans. Even then, we still feel in some sense this is beyond our complete understanding, however, we accept all this truth through faith. We also remember the truth revealed to us that Faith always insists transformation happens. So we simply believe that Jesus is fully human and fully God and this causes a change to happen continually within us, for we also have two natures. We have the nature of man, bent toward sin, but we also have the nature of Spirit dwelling within us, bending us toward God. Thus, we are like Christ in that sense of having two natures, but each day we become more like him. 

Without Hindrance

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

WITHOUT HINDRANCE

Acts 28:30-31

30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV

Paul was in Rome, and he was supposed to be a prisoner of the Roman guard, waiting for his trial before Caesar, who he appealed to because of the charges weighted against him by the Jews in Jerusalem. He first had to appear before Felix, then Festus who succeeded Felix, followed by standing before both Festus and King Agrippa. Because the situation called for it, Paul had only one recourse and that was to appeal his case to Caesar, which meant he must be taken to Rome. We followed his travels throughout the area, stopping along the way, even being shipped wrecked on the island of Malta, and how he was able to heal all that were sick. It is interesting that Paul was allowed to live in his own rented house. He was not in any cell or appeared as though he was in any imminent danger of losing his life. There is no record of the death of Paul or any of the Apostles within the New Testament. Anything regarding the end of Paul’s life would be pure speculation. However, there is speculation that Paul died around 64CE around the time when Nero reigned and there was a great fire in Rome after much persecution of Christians. Some believe Paul was eventually beheaded by Nero. However, we end the record of the Apostles with Paul having the freedom to welcome all who came to see him. We also note that he Boldly and without hindrance preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. We take our cue from that very idea. We can welcome anyone who comes to see us. We can visit with anyone anywhere we would like. We can freely travel without hindrance and generally live in peace at least here in our great land of the free and home of the brave. What we question of ourselves, first, is do we boldly without hindrance preach the kingdom of God? Then we must ask, what does preaching the Kingdom of God look like? It might take a whole book to fully describe this kingdom of God, but in a nutshell, we would have to believe this kingdom is the spiritual realm over which God reigns as king, which includes the fulfillment of God’s will on earth. This would mean that because Jesus said the kingdom of God is near, he said the kingdom of God is in us, and there are so many parables that Jesus taught about the Kingdom that again, it would take a whole book to explore every reference to the Kingdom of God. However, do we preach about this reign of God in our lives? Do we preach about how he reigns over all the earth? Do we preach the fact that anyone can enter this kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ? Do we preach that even though a person is a sinner, that is living a life of sin, committed to self-fulfillment, self-gratification and pleasures, they are still under the reign of God, and will one day have to stand before him and be judged according to their refusal to accept Jesus and live their sinful lives? Do we preach free salvation through faith in Jesus? Maybe we just think people will come to see us because we look like nice people. Maybe we think they will know all about Jesus and the Kingdom of God just by looking at us. But that is not what Paul did, he spoke up, and all he talked about was the Kingdom of God. Then we must also ask ourselves if we teach everything about Jesus Christ? Do we tell people all about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus? Do we teach people about all that Jesus did and spoke? We certainly have the freedom to do all that anytime and anyplace we are, without any hindrance.  

No callousness

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

NO CALLOUSNESS

Acts 28:23-28

23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: 26 "'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving." 27 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'   28 "Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!"  

NIV

These last few words of Paul have several interesting points. We already explored the idea of declaring the truth as we considered that Paul talked from morning till night. We wondered if we could have that effect on people and convince people from the things they might be familiar with as Paul used the law of Moses and the prophets. Now we want to consider this idea of hearing but not understanding and seeing by never perceiving. In addition, we wonder about becoming calloused and hardly hearing or closing our eyes. Of course, Paul was speaking about the Jews who profess they know the law and prophets that are read every Sabbath in the synagogue, and yet they refuse to acknowledge that they all speak about Jesus as the Messiah in one way or another. At least we understand enough to know that Jesus is the Son of God and is the Messiah, our Savior. Paul said the Holy Spirit spoke the truth to the forefathers of the Jews through the prophet Isaiah. It is interesting that we have that same Holy Spirit dwelling within us and we know without a shadow of a doubt that he speaks the truth into our hearts and minds. However, are we listening and understanding? Are we seeing and perceiving? Have we allowed him to circumcise our hearts so that there is absolutely no callousness there? We wonder if we have come to a particular conclusion on our own and keep that filter in place whenever we read the word of God, thus not being open to the change or transformation the Spirit wants to happen in our lives. We understand that being transformed is an ever-ongoing process, which means we must always be willing to see and hear the truth, even if it means changing the way we think about a certain scripture. We can never close our hearts and minds to change and to the transforming power of the truth. It is true that when we accepted Jesus as our Savior we were immediately transformed from sinner to saint, from being a dead man walking to a child of God, alive forevermore. However, that was just the beginning of a life of constant learning and comprehending the truth of God, thus being transformed into the likeness of Jesus with ever-increasing glory, so that we reflect the glory of the Lord more and more each day of our lives. If we allow that Spirit to have full access then we will hear and understand and see and perceive and our hearts will contain absolutely no callousness at all. 

Declaring The Truth

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

DECLARING THE TRUTH

Acts 28:23-28

23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: 26 "'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving." 27 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'   28 "Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!"  

NIV

We think, at first glance, we may have to spend a couple of days on this last record of Paul declaring the truth and making his final statement. First, what we are impressed with is that they, whom we understand are the Jews living in Rome, arranged to meet with Paul on a certain day, and the fact they came in even larger numbers. From the preceding verses we understand that when Paul arrived in Rome, he called together the leaders of the Jews. Now we see they want to meet with him, and those leaders evidentially told others and brought them with them to hear what Paul had to say. Of course, their reason could have been that it was their opportunity to hear news from either Israel or other cities throughout Asia. However, it might also have been because of what Paul said about being in chains because of the hope of Israel. Either way, a larger number of men wanted to hear what Paul had to say. We wonder if we could ever have that effect on people today. Maybe the reason we do not, is that we are not declaring, with boldness and confidence, combined with grace and truth, the word of God regarding the hope of all mankind, Jesus Christ, who was crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascended into heaven, and is the Lord of Glory, the Savior, and Redeemer. Have we declared that Jesus forgives sins and has the authority alone to give eternal life, with the gusto befitting a true believer? Maybe we just do not have that gift of evangelism, but then we do not have to be in order to declare the glory of God. Secondly, we see that Paul spoke to them from morning until night. His testimony and his declaration regarding Jesus were not just a flim-flam, hit or miss, concise comment. He just kept on talking and talking, giving them as much information as he could, trying to convince them of their need to see the truth about Jesus. It is also interesting that Paul used that which they would have been very familiar with, the law of Moses and the words of the Prophets. Certainly, today most, if not all people we come in contact with have no knowledge or need of that knowledge about the law of Moses and the prophets. But what could we use in the culture today that would be relevant to the truth of God that would convince people to believe? It would seem in some cases we cannot even use the scriptures, for some people do not believe them to be God-inspired, or for that matter even believe there is a God. Yet, that is our task, our calling given to us by our Lord, to go out into the world and declare the truth. We cannot be content to simply attend church and live or fellowship with just other believers. We are compelled to speak the truth to anyone who would listen. Some will believe, and some will not. But that is not our call, we are just called to speak the truth.

 

Reputation

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

REPUTATION

Acts 28:21-22

21 They replied, "We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect."

NIV

We are coming to the end of this letter by Luke of his recording of the Acts of the Apostles, and it is ending with Paul being in Rome. He had called the leaders of the Jews to speak with them and we are in the middle of that conversation. Paul had just said he had done nothing against any of his people, he had nothing to charge against them, but that is because of the hope of Israel he is in chains. They would have understood he was talking about the long-awaited Messiah, but they also knew something about the sect called the way, or by now they were called Christians. Still, they wanted to hear his views because they knew people everywhere were talking against that sect. We find two interesting statements that are worth our consideration. First, the Jews said that no one had sent them any news about Paul and that none of the brothers who had come from Judea had said anything or reported anything bad about Paul. This concerns his reputation, and we have to think about what our reputation is. First, among the community of faith, in our own church and in those churches, we have the opportunity to visit. Second, in the world in which we are employed and function on a daily basis. What do our fellow believers think of us? It is not so much about how we actually live our lives within the church, but how our lives are perceived, how they consider us, and what is our reputation. Does anyone have anything bad to say about us, or conversely, does anyone have anything good to say about us? Then we have to consider what people think about us out there in the world in which we live our daily lives. Of course, there are some who live and work in the community of faith, and for the most part, have little opportunity to interact with the outside world. However, most of us, spend more time in the world with non-believers than we do in church, with fellow believers. Therefore, we must be aware of how they perceive our lives. How are we thought of? What do they talk about among themselves regarding both our vocabulary and our behavior? Do they have any reason whatsoever to say anything bad about us or could they say something good about us? Or course we do not live specifically to gain a good reputation, but then we should be living to please the Lord, and in doing so, we would think we would have a good reputation both in the church and in the world. Of course, there is always our reputation with the Lord. But we hope it is good, and perhaps the Lord could say about us what he said about David, that he found a man, or woman, after his own heart. Sure, David was certainly not a perfect man, but his heart was after God. This begs the question: is our heart after God, and because it is, then our reputation among the people should reflect our heart. 

Being Chained

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

BEING CHAINED

Acts 28:17-20

17 Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: "My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar — not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. 20 For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain."

NIV

Although this is Paul giving an account of the events that led to him being in Rome and with these brothers, that is something that strikes a cord within us. First, the fact that even though his people found a reason, even if it was their own made-up reason, to bring charges against Paul, he felt at peace and did not field any charges against them. So often in our modern culture, and yes, even in the church, we find ourselves using that age-old tic-for-tat method. That is if someone makes any disparaging words directed toward us, we try to find a way to disparage them if nothing else by inferring they have no room to judge or field any charges against us. Paul would not forward any charges against his own people although they wanted him dead. The second, and most important message in this passage is how Paul takes about the reason he is in chains is the hope of Israel. This hope of Israel is Jesus, although when he came, as they hoped he would, they refused to believe he was the long-awaited Messiah and moved against him, ultimately having the Romans kill their hope, Jesus. We wonder whether we consider ourselves in chains for the cause of Christ. It is a fact that Jesus has set us free, but that is from the chains of sin and its penalty, death. However, at the same time, we know that we are not free to live in any manner that we desire. We certainly cannot go on willfully committing any sin we desire, for, in fact, we should not even desire to sin, even if we do fail, for it is surely true we will attain perfection this side of heaven. Yet, have we submitted our will to Christ as if we were chained to the gospel. Maybe we should put our old dead selves in chains that cannot be broken. However, at the same time, we might well consider ourselves willingly chained to Christ. 

Encouraged

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

ENCOURAGED

Acts 28:11-16

11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. 16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

NIV

Once more we are engaged in a travelog as they sailed from port to port on their way to Italy and eventually Rome. It is interesting that one of the ships Paul was aboard had the figurehead of the twin gods caster and Pollux. We found through our research that these two gods were fabulous semi-deities reported to be the sons of Jupiter and Leda. Who afterward translated to the heavens and made the constellation called Gemini or the twins. This constellation was deemed favorable to mariners, and it was customary to have the images of their gods both on the head and stern of their ships. It is also interesting among the British royal navy of in modern times, in Christian culture, they have named various ships in different eras, “The Juniper and the Minerva as well as the Castor”. We would think that if those men of two thousand years ago if were able to visit the British Royal Navy in recent times, they would think their old religion had continued unaltered. However, in Paul’s and his companions' journey, they finally arrived at Rome. Word of their travels arrived at Rome before they got there and therefore the brothers, fellow believers, traveled some distance to meet Paul and his companions. Again, from our research, we found that the Forum of Appius was about 53 miles from Rome along a road paved from Rome to Campania which was by the sea. The Three Taverns was on the same road some 33 miles from Roman. That is a long way to travel to meet Paul. We are not told how these Christians happened to be in Italy, however, from the timeline given by the various epistles it appears that Paul had already written his letter to the Romans year before. Somehow there had to be some Jews that had converted to the Way, perhaps some of those who were among the thousands that accepted Jesus because of the speech of Peter on the Day of Pentecost, that made their way to Rome and started a church in Italy. The point of all this is that when the brothers met Paul, at the sight of them Paul thanked God and was encouraged. The question is how much are we encouraged and how much do we thank God at the sight of other believers. Although it might be true that Paul might have thought these believers were in some way a result of his labor in the Lord, or maybe he was simply encouraged because there were believers, and they were interested in meeting him. Maybe they too were encouraged when they met Paul because they had read his letter to the believers in Rome. Still, the point for us is whether we are encouraged to see other believers, or is the church just a ho-hum experience, or perhaps just a social gathering of Christians. Then there is the idea of meeting other believers along life’s way. Do we get encouraged about their faith, or do we simply try to impress them with our faith? Are we encouraged when we hear their testimony and that they are others, who believe as we do, in Jesus? Then are we an encouragement to them? Do we bolster their faith, and thank God for them? Just something for us to ponder, and if we are remiss in encouraging each other, then we must change the way we think and behave. We are told to build each other up until we all reach unity in the faith. So let us begin to build through encouragement and thanking God for them. 

Healings Happen

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

HEALINGS HAPPEN

Acts 28:7-10

7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10 They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

NIV

We find Paul and his companions, which included Luke for he is the one writing this in the first person and is known as the author of these acts of the Apostles. It is interesting we see an example of the gift of hospitality through the actions of Publius. Of course, that would be accustomed to the culture of that day. Sometimes we think we have lost the art of hospitality in our culture today because of our extremely busy lives and so we have forsaken giving our time to entertain guests for a whole day, much less three days. There are always exceptions to that general statement, and we might find some who have been gifted and allow the Sprit to manifest that gift of hospitality through those few. However, the most interesting event that took place was when Paul found out that the father of his host, Publius, was sick in bed; he went to him, placed his hands on him and healed him. Of course, that followed some time of prayer. We are not told of the words of Paul’s prayer, or how long he prayed, but what we know is that whatever he prayed and laid hands on his man, he was healed from his fever and dysentery. That fact is that God heals. The problem is that today we are not seeing that healing on a regular basis. After Paul laid hands on this man and he was healed, all those on the island that were sick came to Paul and they were cured. Again, we are not told how many times Paul prayed or if he laid hands on all the others and he did with this man, but the fact is that God healed them all through the hands of Paul. Again, we must ask the question whether Paul was any better of a believer than we are. Perhaps the Spirit was manifesting his gift of healing through Paul and does not want to do that in any of us today, at least with such force. But we know that is not true, the Spirit will manifest his gifts through anyone who is willing to receive them. It is also true that he may not manifest the same gifts in all people, as each of us might be used in different ways. Still, Jesus told us that we could ask for anything, and that would include being healed, yet it would seem we do not see the healings on the same scale as we are told happened in biblical times. Why is that? God has not changed, and he has said that he is the Lord who heals us. So, then we should not only believe him, but we should be able to see healing occur in the most miraculous of ways. We are never told that Jesus or any of the disciples or in this instance Paul ever asked or required that anyone first repent of all their sins and become perfectly sanctified before they could be healed. In fact, on one occasion with the man lowered through the ceiling by his friends, Jesus told him, “take heart, your sins are forgiven” as well as this sinful woman who came into the house of the Pharisee who had invited Jesus for dinner and when she poured that expensive perfume on Jesus, he told her that her sins were forgiven. We have to conclude that healing only requires belief or faith that we can be healed. However, on the other hand, did this father have faith, did he even know about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? As far as we know, he did not, and in fact he did not even know who Paul was, yet he was healed. We believe all that which is written in the Holy Scriptures, and we believe in the triune God, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and we believe in healing, yet why are we not healed? How long, oh Lord must we wait to be healed? 

Living Abnormally

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

LIVING ABNORMALLY

Acts 28:1-6

28:1 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

NIV

In normal circumstances when someone, such as Paul, is bitten by a viper, which is one of the deadliest snakes, the symptoms are redness, swelling, bruising, or blistering around the bite along with severe pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea and labored breathing and in extreme cases, breathing may stop altogether. However, that was not a normal circumstance because it was Paul, a believer in Christ Jesus, a child of God who is totally sold out to the resurrected Christ. So then, he merely shook the snake off his hand and went about his normal life. However, this event changed the minds of the islanders regarding identity of Paul. At first, because of the snake bite, they considered it a sign that he was a murderer, however, when nothing happened, the most unusual thing they had ever seen, they then believed Paul to be a god. One thing that is interesting about this changing of their minds, is how this particular Greek word is only used here. Metaballo means to throw over, to turn about in opinion. It is a form of, or akin to the Greek word Metanoeoo which means to repent, change one’s thinking. However, the most interesting point in this narrative is how Paul reacted to the snake bite and as we will see next, how he ended up healing all the sick on the island. That is not to say a man can be a healer, but that God heals through a man’s prayers. At least that seems to be the way God works in most cases, but we would be wise not to put God in a box, as in trying to put a square peg in a round hole, it just doesn’t work. We have to be open to God working however, he determines to work, and we will know through the power of the Spirit when God desires to use us to pray for healing. We will leave more of those thoughts to when we get there in the next narrative. However, what we can grasp ahold of now is the fact that Paul was not affected by the snake bite that in most cases would have killed a person. What we are wondering is if today we have become lethargic in our faith and we accept all sorts of ailments or illnesses as a normal way of life for a believer in Christ Jesus. It is true that our bodies are corruptible not only in the sense of our capacity of sin but in a physical sense, that we will experience the aging process, with our bodies changing and becoming less able to do those things we did in our youth. However, this should not be an excuse to be apathetic in our faith and allow, metaphorically, a snake bite, to hamper us in the least bit. We just wonder if we have forsaken being sold out to the resurrected Jesus and are failing to our both our privilege and authority in the name of Jesus to call down healing from heaven for those who are in need. We just wonder if we have accepted unanswered prayer as a way of life for a totally sold-out believer in Jesus. Has that become our normal when we should be living abnormally.

 

Reaching Safety

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

REACHING SAFETY

Acts 27:39-44

39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf. 42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.

NIV

There is one more point within this 27^th chapter that is interesting and bears some consideration. Although this is the narrative regarding the grounding of the ship  on the island of Malta, which we know from the next chapter, and the method by which all souls were saved, per what the angel of the Lord told Paul would happen, it also serves us as a spiritual example. There is always someone who wants to kill the prisoners who are captive to sin. These soldiers could be an example of either Satan or those who would try to persuade us to leave the faith and join their rebellion against God. This could also be an example of us in the church who are satisfied that we have a way to safety but are fine with allowing the prisoners of sin to perish. Here is where the centurion comes in, serving as an example of Christ, wanting all the souls on board to reach the safety of shore. God is never content with any souls perishing and will find a method for them to reach the heavenly shore. If a person can swim, that is he can find his own way to the heavenly shore, it serves as those who are open right away to the fact the Jesus is our way to life on the shores of heaven. However, some might need to grab hold of something, a plank, or a piece of information that serves as a way for them to reach the shore. That is God provides a way for those who need help to reach that heavenly shore. We also noticed that no matter if they were swimmers or need to cling to a piece of the ship, all needed to abandon the ship, and jump overboard. This also can serve to give us the idea that in order to reach the heavenly shore, we must jump overboard, and abandon the ship of sin. Sure some took pieces of that ship to reach shore, and maybe we might take just a small piece of that ship of sin with us as well. For it would be true that none of us are totally free of sin, although we have jumped ship and are headed straight for the shore of the kingdom of God. Still, we should never be content until all souls reach land safety. 

Safe Travels

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

SAFE TRAVELS

Acts 27:22-26

22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island."

NIV

This is just a portion of the whole of chapter 27, which is a travel log of the sailing adventures of Paul and company under the charge of a certain Centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.  The trip aboard the ship was from Caesarea to Italy, however, this chapter ends with them being strained on some island due to the most violent of storms. It would seem wasteful to copy the whole of this chapter, with this event being the one important one. There were a total of 276 souls on board and Paul was assured by an angel of God that none would perish and that Paul would make it to Rome. This is a narrative of the gracious act of God toward all aboard that ship. However, it is also a demonstration of the will of God for all who travel through life. We already know that it is God’s desire that none should perish, but all men should come to the saving knowledge of faith in Jesus. Still, we can also see that as we sail through life, we might well encounter some violent storms. There could be difficult times in our lives when we might feel all is lost, and that we are not going to survive the storm. Sometimes it seems the winds are against us, and we are not making any headway in our plans for our life. We might even think sometimes that all our dreams have run aground, and we will never attain our goal. However, God has promised us that we would stand before him, perhaps not so much as on trial, but in fact, it will be a trial of sorts. God will be the Judge and there will be the one who brings the charges against us, the evil one himself. However, for those of us in Christ, those will be false charges, as the Jews leveled against Paul. However, we also have one who stands in our defense, the Righteous One, the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus. As Paul was promised that everything would happen just as he was told, we have that promise from God that everything we have read in his Holy Word will happen just as we have been told. All mankind will stand before God. Those who are not sailing on the same ship as we are, headed for the place we are promised to get there, the Promised Land, Heaven, the new city of God, will not be saved. But their own choice to run their lives aground upon the rocks and refuse the lifeboat of Jesus will be cast out forever to the most undesired place, a place where they will perish. However, we have been promised to stand before God in Christ and arrive with our lives saved from all peril. Because we are in Christ, we can safely travel through this life. 

True and Reasonable

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

TRUE AND REASONABLE

Acts 26:24-32

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

To those who do not truly believe, our faith in Jesus seems as though it is insanity.  Festus could not wrap his mind around that type of faith in Jesus who was killed by the Romans at the persuading of the Jews and was resurrected back to life and now sits at the right had of Yahweh. This is just way too unbelievable to fathom. However, the facts are the facts, as Paul tells Festus that his testimony about Jesus is true and reasonable. What is crazy about having faith in Jesus? What is insane to believe that which is true and reasonable? In this world that we live in today, it seems so many people believe in their own truth and considers their truth reasonable, however, it is simply their own concocted truth which is a perversion of any semblance of sanity. Even King Agrippa, a Jewish leader, could not understand or believe in this truth that Paul was testifying to. It is interesting that King Agrippa used the term, Christian. We would have to go back to the twelfth  chapter when the believers in Antioch were first called Christians, or followers of Christ. Today, we are still called Christians, which can be a problem because there are many people who call themselves that, but still consider that our type of faith is a form of insanity. However, the greatest tragedy is the denigration of any moral compass in our current culture. We do not know if everyone has developed their own brand of truth, or if so many have been lead astray by the dark forces of evil in their world. Certainly, our youth have been indoctrinated by those who despise the truth about Jesus Christ because of their hatred of the truth or light that would expose them for who they truly are, enemies of Christ. Nevertheless, we may well be looked upon as insane for believing in the word of God, which they refute as truth, claiming it is only written by man and has many contradictions and therefore is invalid to base our lives on. Some have come to a point of total ignorance of the scriptures or that God exists. We have to face the fact that we are not going to win the battle against such evil in this world. In fact, it is not our calling or responsibility to win the battle, but only to testify to what is true and reasonable. Paul stood his ground, even in chains against the insinuation that he was insane by Festus. We have been given many encouragements and exhortations within the word of God to take our stand, to stand our ground, to stand firm, not to be moved from the truth and not to retreat in our churches to remain isolated from the world’s view of what is true, although it is not either true or reasonable. Our sanity is in the truth, and they are the ones who are insane for they rather live in their darkness even within their insistence they are living enlightened. But we know what is true and reasonable and we will not be moved.

 

True Proof of Repentance

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

TRUE PROOF OF REPENTANCE

Acts 26:19-23

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."

NIV

The continued testimony of Paul before King Agrippa and Festus had some interesting points. First, Paul says that he was faithful to the vision from heaven. Because King Agrippa is of Jewish descent, he must believe in Yahweh who sits in heaven. Of course, the dispute is not about Yahweh, but about Jesus, the Christ. Even today we find many people who say they believe in God. The question regarding simple believing in God is how they define who God is. Whatever their definition they may not believe that one needs to repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This was the problem with the Jews that wanted Paul dead. They believed in Yahweh and the Law of Moses but refused the words of the prophets in regard to Jesus being the Messiah they spoke about. However, what is somewhat troubling is what Paul said about proving their repentance through their deeds. First, understanding that repentance means a change of mind, or changing the way a person thinks, that it would include acknowledging a life of sin and seeking and finding forgiveness through faith in Jesus, that a person would also change their deeds. They would change from deeds of evil, to deeds of good. This would not be simply doing good work but living in a good manner. We will never be totally free of all sin, that is we will still make mistakes and yield to a temptation of whatever sort it may be. We could become jealous, or envious for a moment until we realize our feelings are wrong. We could gossip, even unknowingly, or knowingly until we are convinced that is not right. We could yield to some sensual area, gratifying our physical senses, either overindulging ourselves with food or of a sexual nature. We could fall into the trap of pride or feeling more highly of ourselves than we should, regarding our achievements in this life, and maybe even in our church. But the idea is that we have changed our way of thinking and we are proving that by turning from a life completely dedicated to self-fulfillment and now seeking to live in a manner that pleases God. But we cannot confuse faith in Christ with good works. The works will follow because of our faith in Christ, and those works could be many things, even different for each individual, in fact, the works could be seen as our calling, what we are meant to do. But the greatest of all the works that God requires of us is to believe in the one he sent, Jesus. This is the true proof of repentance. 

Effective Work of Christ

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

EFFECTIVE WORK OF CHRIST

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

The first thing we notice is that Paul had an obsession bent against Jesus and all those who followed him. Interestingly, this translation uses obsession and most of the others use what seems a better sense of the Greek: was exceeding mad at them, was enraged against them. This kind of personality would be defined as one with an obsession bent toward one point of view. Considering that after Paul's conversation we would say that he was obsessed with the truth about Jesus. That would make us think he had a classic type one aggressive personality, which had to come into play with how much he tried to persuade everyone he met that Jesus was the truth, the light, and the way. In his testimony before Festus, Paul recounts his encounter with Jesus. It is interesting that Jesus appeared before Paul in a bright light blazing around him. Jesus interrupted the life of Paul in a way that Paul could not deny it was Jesus, the one he gave voice against as a Pharisee. However, not only did Paul see this blazing bright light, but he heard Jesus speaking to him. Although this is about the conversion experience and we could focus on that, recalling our experience when Jesus interrupted our obsession with the attitudes of hatred against organized religion, especially the Christian church, there is one thing Jesus said to Paul that we feel needs exploring more. But first, we think we all have been called to open people's eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from living under the power of Satan to living for God. Still, what Jesus said about those who are sanctified by faith in him must be considered more. This Greek word hagiazo is interesting in that its first meaning is to make holy, to purify. To render or declare sacred or holy, to consecrate. The question which rattles around in our mind is this difference, many believe, between being sanctified and continual sanctification. We wonder if the sanctifying work of Christ was ineffective if we have to be in a state of continually being sanctified, which is believed to be our becoming more perfect like Christ. This is considered a process of being sanctified completely, or fully. This seems to us to be an exercise in futility because then we will never be made holy enough, at least, until we take our last breath. However, if Jesus said that he sanctified us, that God declared us holy and blameless in his sight, then how can we be more holy or more blameless based on our being more obedient to the word and our walk with the Lord. If that were the case, then our sanctification would rely on us rather than solely on the work of Christ. It would seem right to us to believe that when Jesus sanctified us, we were sanctified fully and completely. Does that mean we should not make an effort to live pure, holy, and right before the Lord? Not at all, we are to make every effort to live to please God rather than men. But again, we still believe the way to please God is to have faith in his Son, Jesus Christ so that we will have the right to be called children of God. What is done is done, and we have been sanctified by faith in the effective work of Christ. 

A Fact is A Fact

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

A FACT IS A FACT

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

This defense of Paul is going to take some time and therefore we will need to take some of it at a time. First, Paul lets Agrippa know that Paul was a Jew of Jews and that he held to all the law and in fact, zealously followed the law. Paul makes sure that all the Jews were patiently and anxiously waiting for the Messiah to come because God had promised them it would be so. This is the hope of all the Jews, but the problem is that they could not come to terms with two facts. First, that Jesus was the Messiah, and second, that God raised him from the dead. Paul asked this very important question about why anyone would consider it incredible that God raises the dead. We think it comes down to how we perceive who God is. In the culture in which Paul lived many societies have multiple Gods. We think of when Jesus was in Caesarea Philippi with his disciples and they were near both a temple built for Caesar, a man who wanted to be a god, and a temple built for a god named Pan, who is said of he wanted to be a man. Although Pan was just an idol that could not see, hear, or speak. Nevertheless, here is where Jesus asked his disciples, “who do you say that I am”? Yet, God is almost impossible to completely define from our human perspective. We do have all the scripture which gives us some insight, or at least what insight God desires us to have of his character and his unlimited power and abilities, which include raising the dead. Considering the fact that God formed us from the dirt and breathed his very breath into us, he should by all accounts not only be able to bring life back into a dead body but that he can heal our current living bodies. Jesus gave us that insight about healing in that as many that came to him, he healed. This is also true of having a resurrected life. God gives a resurrected life to all who come to him, through Jesus. Although, we Christians call it our hope, as Paul indicated the hope of the Jews, we cannot understand the word hope when it is fact, because God said it. The Greek word Elpis has this meaning of anticipation, usually with pleasure, but also an expectation or confidence. We think hope is not truly hoping when we are confident of the outcome. If a professional football team were to play against a minor league high school team, we would not need any hope about the professional team winning. We would have confidence in the outcome. Because we have the promise of God and the demonstration of his power to raise the dead, we need not hope that happens, for we are confident it will. There is no doubt, no question whatsoever, that because we believe in Jesus Christ and have committed our life in Him, we will be raised from the dead and have eternal life in the same glorified body that Jesus has after he was raised from the dead. A fact is a fact, and we need not hope that it is a fact and the fact is God will raise us up from the dead. 

Fantasy

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FANTASY

Acts 25:23-27

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

 

Oh, how vain is the man. We see King Agrippa and Bernice entering the audience room with great pomp. It is interesting the Greek translated pomp is phantasia. This is the word we get the English word fantasy, and that is exactly what that Greek word means. Their entrance was a fantasy, filled with all sorts of ceremonial devices. We don’t know much about Bernice, although some of our scholars are convinced, she was Agrippa's niece who he supposedly married after his brother died. He was also called Herod Agrippa who was mentioned in Acts 12, but just called Herod who was the son of Herod the Great who reigned during the time Jesus was born as a man and tried to have him killed. Agrippa Herod was the one who had James the brother of John killed by the sword, and who imprisoned Peter showing off because the Jews were pleased. Now he shows up with Bernice in full regalia, entering as a royal king with all the fantasy, fanfares, trumpets, the waving of banners, and whatever else a king would need to show his importance. It does make us think of how some people today put on a big show, bragging about their importance in the world. We only have to look at the political, entertainment, and sports arenas to see so many who have such a high opinion of themselves. We remember just recently in the past, a presidential winner, gave his acceptance speech in front of great Greek Columns in a filled outdoor stadium. Some have such an over exaggerated opinion of their importance. However, what we have to be careful of in the church is to always remain humble. We cannot afford to even give the appearance of pridefulness, boasting about our accomplishments, or our qualifications. We are all but servants of the Most High God, born again through faith in Jesus Christ. We are taught that we should not think more highly of ourselves than we should and to put the needs of others before our own. We think we fail at this far too much. How is it that we have trouble with this? Do we actually want others to see our importance in the church? We have noticed over the many years of being a believer that in various churches we have been involved in, there are those who are boastful and prideful of their qualifications, position, and all they do in the church. We cannot afford to be like King Agrippa and want all the pomp, which is nothing but a fantasy when we enter the church. Titles are manmade, for the only title that is meaningful is the King of kings, the Lord of Lord, the Anointed One, the Holy One of God, the Son, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Yet, he came in the humblest of ways, and became a servant, even washing the feet of his disciples, to show us the way to live, in humility, without any fanfare, without any fantasy, but just being all the Jesus intended us to be, with the only title that has any meaning of all, a child of God.