Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Acts 17:1-15
Set – Acts 17
Go! – Leviticus 13-14; Acts 17
Acts 17:1-15
1After leaving Philippi and passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica. There was a Jewish synagogue there. 2-3 As he had done in other cities, Paul attended the synagogue and presented arguments, based on the Hebrew Scriptures, that the Anointed had to suffer and rise from the dead.Paul: Who is this suffering and rising Anointed One I am proclaiming to you? He is Jesus.
He came back the next two Sabbaths—repeating the same pattern. 4 Some of the ethnically Jewish people from the synagogue were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas. Even more devout Greeks who had affiliated with Judaism came to believe—along with quite a few of the city’s leading women. 5-6 Seeing this movement growing, the unconvinced Jewish people became protective and angry. They found some ruffians hanging out in the marketplaces and convinced them to help start a riot. Soon a mob formed, and the whole city was seething with tension. The mob was going street by street, looking for Paul and Silas—who were nowhere to be found. Frustrated, when the mob came to the house of a man named Jason, now known as a believer, they grabbed him and some other believers they found there and dragged them to the city officials.
Mob: These people—they’re political agitators turning the world upside down! They’ve come here to our fine city, 7 and this man, Jason, has given them sanctuary and made his house a base for their operations. We want to expose their real intent: they are trying to overturn Caesar’s sensible decrees. They’re saying that Jesus is king, not Caesar!
8 Of course, this disturbed the crowd at large and the city officials especially, 9 so they demanded bail from Jason and the others before releasing them.
10 The believers waited until dark and then sent Paul and Silas off to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the synagogue.
11 The Jewish people here were more receptive than they had been in Thessalonica. They warmly and enthusiastically welcomed the message and then, day by day, would check for themselves to see if what they heard from Paul and Silas was truly in harmony with the Hebrew Scriptures. 12 Many of them were convinced, and the new believers included—as in Thessalonica—quite a few of the city’s leading Greek women and important men also. 13 Reports got back to Thessalonica that Paul and Silas were now spreading God’s message in Berea; the Jewish people who had incited the riot in Thessalonica quickly came to Berea to do the same once again. 14-15 The believers sent Paul away. A small group escorted him, first to the coast, and then all the way to Athens. Silas and Timothy, however, remained in Berea. Later they received instructions from Paul to join him in Athens as soon as possible.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
Preaching the truth about Jesus always gets a reaction. For some the reaction is one of joy because of the freedom the message brings to a heart finally stripped of the crushing burden of sins unforgiven. That joy cannot find containment and others hear about and see the transformation that comes to men and women because of the cleansing power of the blood My Son spilled for their redemption.
The other reaction is like the unbelieving Jews Paul met in the synagogues who tried to stop My message. I find their methods interesting. Here were men and women supposedly studying My law that consistently talks about caring for the strangers among them. It says to remember they were once aliens in a foreign land and show show grace and mercy to those in need. My law says to meet the needs of widows and orphans. Just the message Paul preached and lived each day as he went to the synagogues and walked the streets trafficked by Roman soldiers. He proclaimed the same message My Son proclaimed.
Now these Jewish leaders in every town wanted to protect their sacred place in the temple and synagogues and instead of heeding My message, the found ruffians in the marketplace. They spread lies about the people I sent to spread the good news I had for all people because they had not done it as I directed them to do. To protect their place in the world they were willing to do anything, even break the commandments I told them they were to hold sacred. They lied, they cheated, they disregarded the fabric of honesty and integrity that keeps justice and equity among all classes and races of people paramount in society. They were even willing to kill to protect their positions.
How far will people go to protect their positions, their titles, their preconceived ideas of who is right or wrong when the truth is staring them in the face? Paul had been one of them. The transformation in his life should have been evidence enough that I had done something dramatic in him. The miracles that happened because of My Spirit working in his life should have been evidence enough to convince them I was present and Paul had something to say just like the now long-dead prophets had something to say to the leaders before them.
Instead of taking note of Paul’s words and listening to the message, these leaders assumed they knew better than Me and would stop and nothing to destroy Paul’s, My message. But it wouldn’t work. When I’m on the move, nothing can stop Me. Men might try, but I created men. I created everything, so heaven and earth can not stop My plans once in motion. That’s the good news for those that are on My side. Paul wrote about it in his letter to the fledgling congregation meeting in Rome when he said, “…not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers, height, depth, nor any created thing, can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord.”
I’m unstoppable. When you get on board with Me, you are too. Paul found out on the road to Damascus. Those who opposed him on his missionary journeys found out I’m unstoppable, too. Wherever opponents of the church tried to crush it, My church has only grown faster and spread farther. I’d advise you to climb on board with Me. When you read the end of the book, I win. Second place is not very pretty. It wasn’t in Paul’s day and it won’t be at the judgment.
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