Links for today’s readings:
Oct 23 Read: Ezekiel 23 Listen: (7:48) Read: Ephesians 1 Listen: (3:10)
Links for this weekend’s readings:
Oct 24 Read: Ezekiel 24 Listen: (4:13) Read: Ephesians 2 Listen: (3:04)
Oct 25 Read: Ezekiel 25 Listen: (2:50) Read: Ephesians 3 Listen: (2:41)
Readers’ Choice posts are selected by our readers:
This week of Readers’ Choice looks back at reflections about the Bible.
Barbara, TN — Your questions are so good and perfectly reasonable to ask followers of Christ! Stories of suffering, “vulnerability,“ our stories testifying about what I was like when I abandoned faith and how I have been changed by the living Christ regarding my thoughts, words, and deeds, “stories.” Stories of my betrayal of faith and the change when I was broken decades ago… and today. The song I sing and whistle most recently is He Will Hold Me Fast!
This post was originally published on July 9, 2026, based on readings from Acts 25.18-19 and Acts 26.24-27.
Scripture Focus: Acts 25.18-19
18 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.
Acts 26.24-27
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.”
Reflection: True and Reasonable Faith — Readers’ Choice
By John Tillman
Festus was confused by the false charges against Paul. He didn’t even know how to describe the case when sending it to Caesar. Paul’s claims seemed like madness to him.
Many within Greek-influenced Roman culture thought the spirit was a superior form of reality and the body was an inferior shell. The resurrection of the dead was nonsense—more like a curse than a miracle. Later, as Paul spoke of resurrection during his defense, Festus would interrupt, saying, “You are out of your mind!” (Acts 26.24-27)
Paul’s defense included telling the facts of his own life, his previous persecution of “The Way,” and his meeting with the risen Jesus. Paul presented his claims as verifiable facts that “did not happen in a corner” (Acts 26.26) and invited scrutiny of everything, including the resurrection. Even in Paul’s day, all the authority and power of Rome couldn’t disprove Paul’s testimony about Jesus.
Paul’s defense also claimed that his testimony about resurrection was “reasonable” from the Jewish perspective and in light of what was written in the prophets. To Agrippa, a man well-studied in Jewish anthropology and the scriptures, the resurrection of the dead was not madness and Paul’s story apparently seemed quite compelling. (Acts 26.28)
Paul demonstrated that he was innocent of the charges against him. But what is more important is that he demonstrated that Christian claims sprang logically from promises in the Jewish scriptures and that the facts of his life merited serious consideration of his religious claims.
The TV series, The Chosen, imagines a conversation between Nicodemus and Mary Magdalene. In that scene, she says, “I was one way… and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between… was Him.” Even as far removed from the events of the Gospels as we are, we still can bear witness, like Paul and others did, using our own stories.
You may think, “I don’t have a dramatic story. I wasn’t arresting Christians like Paul or possessed by demons like Mary.” But surely Jesus has made a dramatic change in you? Hasn’t he changed the way you think about yourself? Hasn’t he changed the way you think about others? Hasn’t he rooted out of your heart stones and weeds and planted new growth?
Keep testifying to the truth of the resurrection and living out its implications. It is our lives, paired with our words, that make our faith “true and reasonable” to the watching world.
Prayer for the week:
We are taking a break from the Divine Hours Prayers this month. Each week, we will pray a prayer from Scripture or Christian history related to the week’s theme. This week’s prayer is related to our theme of the Bible:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and the comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. — Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556)
Read more: Prayer Beyond Petitions
When we envision prayer solely as something we do, as a work of human agency, it is almost impossible not to see it as a ritual designed for our benefit.
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