Tag: Acts 22

Scripture Focus: 
Acts 22.14-15
Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 

Reflection: Above All, Follow Christ
By Karen Yarnell

Paul understood the mindset of the rioting Jews. As Paul spoke to the angry crowd from the fortress steps in Jerusalem, he emphasized his Jewish upbringing, and that he was a Pharisee trained by the leading Rabbi, Gamaliel. He said, “I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.” (v. 3) In fact, he was so against those practicing the Way, that he hunted them to arrest them. He even stood by and watched as Stephen was stoned for following Jesus. So, what changed? 

Paul met Jesus! Gifted, highly trained, zealous, determined Paul came face to face with Jesus, and when he did, Paul met the One greater than himself. He met the Son of God. Musician Phil Keaggy sang it this way: “Like waking up from the longest dream. How real it seemed, until your love broke through.” Paul’s face-to-face encounter with Christ, though it made him temporarily blind, caused him to see the scope of God’s kingdom. Paul’s spiritual blindness was replaced with the ability to see God’s Spirit transforming lives. 
 
Now Paul, entrusted with the good news, would go wherever and to whomever he was sent, even if it meant persecution or death. He said, “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13) Paul focused on a singular task: sharing the gospel entrusted to him. Persecution did not matter, if the gospel could be shared (Phil 1:12). The words of those who opposed Paul did not matter if Jesus was being preached. (Phil. 1:18) 
 
I am often overcome with the depth of Paul’s love for Jesus and with the strength of his determination to share the good news. Nothing else mattered to Paul. I look at myself and question, what matters most to me? What occupies space in my heart and, at times, takes precedence over sharing the gospel? How would my view of life be different if the lens through which I filtered all things was an urgency to love and share Christ? May He give all of us grace to walk worthy of the calling we have received from the One who is worthy, Jesus Christ.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, for he has visited his people, he has set them free, and he has established for us a saving power in the house of his servant David, just as he proclaimed, by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times. — Luke 1.68-70


Today’s Readings
Isaiah 64 (Listen -2:01)
Acts 22 (Listen – 4:26)

Read more about Gospel Faith or Garbage Faith
Once he met Christ, Paul realized everything prior was waste, rubbish, by comparison.

Gospel Faith or Garbage Faith

Scripture: Acts 22:21
Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

Reflection: Lingering Hope
By John Tillman

In Acts we can track the Holy Spirit’s systematic destruction of the racism inherent in the early church. This is a reminder that we must allow the Holy Spirit freedom to do the same in each generation.

Racism has not proven to be something that any previous generation can solve once for all time. It comes back, season after season, like tares among the wheat. Each generation must root out the weeds of racial prejudices on their own.

In Stormy Road for This Pilgrim (published in 1978), Nelson Hayashida writes about the partial successes of the Civil Rights movement and his hope for the future.

Although our dilemma may still exist in lesser or greater degrees throughout the country, there appears to be glimmering signs of a brighter tomorrow. With the increasing ease of communication and travel the world is rapidly being transformed into a “familiar community.” Generally speaking, American young people today are more knowledgeable than previous generations about the hurts and struggles of the varying ethnic groups in America. In fact, it seems the whole American populace have now a sharper sensitivity toward minorities. They are more aware of the pains and injustices imposed upon ethnics and are voicing stronger disapproval for discriminating situations. There appears to be greater understanding and acceptance of Oriental-Americans today than there were twenty or thirty years ago.

It’s true the American amalgamation of races has not been an altogether euphonious process, but ethnics are here to stay in this country nevertheless. This right to remain and live in this great land is not only our constitutional birthright but also our moral birthright. Racial or ethnic relations in America may not be near what it should be, but when there is an increasing understanding and acceptance for one another among all Americans, hope lingers on the distant horizon.

Our hope is not in a political movement of the past or the present, but is in the movement of the Holy Spirit, that in each generation has stirred the hearts of believers and the heart of the church to seek justice, reconciliation, and redemption in every broken part of our culture, including racism. When the church marches toward the hurting and seeks justice, society follows. When the church stumbles, so does our culture.

The Morning Psalm
Our iniquities you have set before you, and our secret sins in the light of your countenance… — Psalm 90:8

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Judges 18 (Listen – 4:39)
Acts 22 (Listen – 4:26)

This Weekend’s Readings
Judges 19 (Listen – 4:52) Acts 23 (Listen – 5:15)
Judges 20 (Listen – 7:13) Acts 24 (Listen – 4:11)