'Acts' Tagged Posts

After the escape from the sea and being marooned on the island of Malta, Paul had gathered some sticks for the fire built to protect survivors from the wet and cold. As he laid the bundle on the fire, a viper emerged and fastened on his hand. When the natives of Malta saw this, they thought he must surely be a robber, and that, though he escaped from the sea, fate would not allow him to live. Shaking off the…

Paul’s journey to Rome was beset with many difficulties, including a storm at sea that eventually led to the loss of the ship and all its contents. Early on, Paul had intreated Julius, (the centurion charged with delivering him to Rome), not to continue once they had reached Fair Havens in Cyprus. However, Julius was persuaded by the helmsman and ship owner to try and find a more suitable place to spend the winter. It was logical for Julius to…

From today’s text we take up thoughts from two recent readings: “I thought” from Acts 23 and “Almost” from Acts 24. In Acts 26:9 we find Paul reflecting on his time as a persecutor of the Lord and His church, saying to King Agrippa, “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” When we have preconceived ideas of how things should be, we can allow our own thinking to direct us…

The matter of capital punishment has been debated in America for more than 150 years and has been a serious matter of contention for more than half a century. The Supreme Court temporarily stopped all executions in the United States in the early 1970s, but the constitutionality of the practice was reaffirmed in 1976. The practice of capital punishment may be opposed on a number of grounds: belief in the inherent value of all life, the inconsistency of practice due…

One of the saddest and most poignant verses in all the Bible is found in today’s reading. As Paul reasoned with Felix about “righteousness, self-control, and the judgment come, Felix was afraid and answered, ‘Go your way for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” It should be noted that Felix was not some incidental bystander to the preaching of the faith that is in Christ, for he had summonsed Paul to hear him speak.…

Standing before the Jewish council, Paul boldly affirmed, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” In response, the high priest commanded Paul to be struck on the mouth. I’m not at all certain why his statement evoked such a response. Paul was not claiming to be right, only a person of integrity. Our focus today is on Paul’s clear conscience, and for the very reason mentioned above. Having a good conscience didn’t…

In his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2, Peter concluded his quotation of Joel with this statement, “And it shall come to pass, that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21, cf Joel 2:32). Paul said the same in Romans 10:13, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Among those professing Christianity, there is near unanimity that to be saved one must “call on the name of the Lord.” But…

One of the beautiful things about inspired literature is the forthrightness to faithfully represent the characters therein, warts and all. Noah was a great man and upright in his generation, but after the flood we find him drunk in his tent. Abraham is called “the father of faith,” yet we find him so faithless that he conspired to have Sarah lie about their relationship… twice! Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived (Jesus aside – Matt 12:42), yet he…

Desiring to exhort the brethren, but unwilling to deviate from his travel plans, Paul called for the elders of the church at Ephesus to meet him at Miletus (v 17). Near the end of his exhortation, Paul commanded these men to “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood” (v 28 NKJV). The word here rendered as…

There is an increase in the number of those who believe that one’s baptism is acceptable to God so long as it is an immersion in order to please God. One’s understanding of what the Bible teaches concerning baptism and its necessity to receive remission of sins and salvation is no longer considered a hindrance to fellowship and life in Christ. This is a serious mistake, and today’s reading helps us to know this. In Acts 18:24-28, we learn that…