Grace: Told you so…
As we left Paul and his shipmates, they were in the midst of a terrible winter storm in the Adriatic. Before the ship wrecks, Paul has one last word of encouragement for them: Since many were going without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to […]
A Strategy for Life’s Tempests
As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor […]
Storms in Life
When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose; they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. But not long afterwards, a fierce wind called the “northeaster” rushed down from the island. Since the ship was caught and was unable to head into the wind, we gave way […]
Especially the gift of prophecy…
As Luke closes chapter 26 of Acts he adds a comment that is as much an editorial as it is a quotation of Agrippa: …“This man [Paul] could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar” (Acts 26:32, NIV). Nevertheless, Paul, did appeal to Caesar, so he and Luke and some friends […]
Walking in Faith
As he was making his defense this way, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much study is driving you mad!” But Paul replied, “I’m not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I’m speaking words of truth and good judgment. (Acts 26:24-25, HCSB) Sometimes I […]
Father’s Day
This Sunday is Father’s Day and I want to encourage you to spend the morning in the Father’s House. In the same way we earthly fathers like to hear our kids say “Thanks”, I’m sure our Heavenly Father likes to hear it from us. I’ve been thinking about fatherhood a lot lately. My son graduated […]
Faith and Works
“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. (Acts 26:19, HCSB) Ever wonder what sets apart the great men and women of faith? I believe it is implied here: obedience. Interestingly, the word used here can mean “to obey” or “to persuade.” The two ideas are tied tightly together: Paul obeyed the […]
Lord, Deliver Me from Christians
When Jesus appeared to Paul on the Road to Damascus, the Lord began to outline to the future apostle what his ministry would look like. Jesus said: I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them.(Acts 26:17, NIV) This is such an interesting statement to me. […]
Persecuting Whom?
“But I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ “And the Lord replied: ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. (Acts 26:15, HCSB) If he wanted to fight the Lord on this, Paul had a pretty good argument. You see, he had never even met Jesus – he makes that clear elsewhere in his writings – so […]
The Gospel According to Euripides?
Agrippa said to Paul, “It is permitted for you to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense… When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to […]
Some Dead Guy?
The Apostle Paul, who made an appeal to Caesar, was being passed from Festus to Agrippa. Apparently passing the buck has been around in politics since the first century. When Festus attempts to bring Agrippa up-to-speed on the Paul case, he gives an interesting description of the facts: Therefore, when they had assembled here, I […]
Be Alert!
Once Claudius learned about the plot against Paul, he sent the Apostle to Caesarea – to the Governor Felix. Paul told his story again… 25 Now as he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became afraid and replied, “Leave for now, but when I find time I’ll call for you.” 26 […]
