Weekly Devotion

There’s a young man I know who has a bigger heart than many his age. Jesus said if we have even the faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. Well, this young man has so much more faith than that. When I asked him what he loves to do more than anything else in the world he said, “Fishing and interacting with people.”

A lot of things look great on surface level. An incredible sale, “quick results,” “instant rebate,” and “no strings attached” are just a few examples. Many times, the saying too good to be true applies when something that appears so beneficial requires no payment or penalty. How can it be? In these two chapters of Acts, we find Paul appearing on trial in front of King Agrippa and Porcious Festus unpacking the reality of the Gospel of Christ.

Luke demonstrates the centrality of the resurrection to the Christian faith in both Acts 23 and 24. Paul was once again facing the heat, on trial in front of the Sadducees and Pharisees. It was partly his message and mainly because he preached the resurrection of Jesus.

Paul, despite all his flaws and his shady, violent history, was a devoted, passionate teacher of the Gospel. As a devout Jewish Pharisee he knew God’s word, but as a true believer of Jesus, he lived God’s word. The community in Ephesus meant a great deal to Paul and likewise to them. His earnest teaching came from the heart of his mission, his devotion to his Savior and nothing else.

Beginning in this chapter until the end of the Book of Acts, we find Paul in Roman custody. Other epistles in the New Testament present Paul as a free man, but in terms of Acts, this was the end of his time as a free man. Imprisoned or free, he never ended his witness to Jesus Christ or his usefulness to God and God’s people.

I’ve been aware of my Christian roots for most of my life and throughout this journey I’ve also tried to be aware of God’s plan for me. Several times I felt I was sailing along in the direction He set me on, only to be disrupted, bumped, and turned another way. One day I’m on cruise control and the next, I’m scratching my way up a steep hill with nothing to hold onto. God uses all of us in different ways, He just doesn’t tell us what those ways are.

Many events take place in chapter 17 of Acts. Luke captured all the historical details to describe what took place with Paul in Athens. More importantly, he captured the necessary details to show us the proper way to spread the gospel to an audience of mixed believers.

Life didn’t get any easier for Paul and others involved in the development of the early church. Paul had already traveled in this region before on a previous mission trip. According to William Barclay, Paul’s first mission was about five years before the events of chapter 16. We can assume that Paul was eager to see for himself the fruits of the work of the Lord among these churches since his prior visit.

As a teenager in high school, I would sometimes get into fierce arguments with friends about which rock band was better. When I say friends, I’m not talking about casual acquaintances, I’m talking about close, longtime friends. The conversations would sometimes go from humorous to nasty in 60 seconds. In our divisive world today, it’s virtually impossible to have a civil disagreement about anything. From politics to vaccines to social justice, it’s normally fuel for a heated discussion. Surprisingly, churches can be even worse in terms of tolerance for disagreement.

A long time ago, I heard a significant sermon from a past Pastor that has stuck with me for more than two decades. He told us of a memorable story of being stuck on a small sailboat out at sea, being blasted by a freak storm. His message began with a vivid image of sailing out of a harbor baked by the afternoon sun. He mentioned the sun peaking through the tall grasses on the side of the shoreline, looking like a golden coating. The water was dancing, shimmering from the power of the August sunshine. I remember clearly, his almost sarcastic smile as he told us he knew that God was blessing their journey, their boat, and of course, them too.