A Daily Devotion for Monday, October 12
Acts 26:19-31
“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen — that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.”
“I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. 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. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”
The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. After they left the room, they began saying to one another, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”
This passage from the book of Acts reminds me again that a study of this book would be very helpful. Paul is in chains due to his sharing of the Good News and I find myself too apprehensive and afraid of irritating someone just to offer a prayer to a stranger. The woman in the devotion this morning had reached out many times in her life to share her faith, but saw no results. She is already a huge winner, and I am sure that God has let her know this. I pray that God will give me the courage to plant seeds, because I know that he can do the rest.
Holy Lord, I pray today for courage to show your love, goodness, kindness and mercy to others. May I be fearless in stating that this love comes from you. Amen
Becky, transforming
Acts 26:19-31
The vignette in this morning’s Upper Room took me back to when I was with the Gideons International. For many years we had a booth at the Hopkinton Fair distributing pocket New Testaments with Psalms and Proverbs. Occasionally a person would laugh or curse or throw it. Some children took copies only to have them brought back by their parents. Periodically one of us would walk around the fairgrounds and collect those left in various places including in trash bins. Our attitude was that we were planting seeds and we knew some would fall on rocky soil. More recently, I have had conversations with committed Christians who expressed a concern that my affiliation with Scouting, given their non-sectarian…