ACTS of the Apostles, Part 2

Read Acts 21:27-40

Focus Verses: Acts 21:30-31

Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

Like us, the Early Church seems to face the same accusation, frustration, and later confusion that we face today. Once again, a follower of Jesus (Paul) is being falsely accused, and the leadership of the day uses force and fear to remove the "problem" from the community. There truly is "nothing new under the sun."

Lord Jesus, come quickly!

I love Paul's response. He didn't plead his case or violently oppose the false accusation. I'm sure he wasn't surprised by the response of the Jews. But, he did take control of the situation by asking to speak with the crowd. He also chose to speak to them in their language. Paul was paying attention. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he assessed the situation and utilized all of his minutes for Gospel work.

My take-away from Paul today is that even when I'm wrongly accused or frustrated by the response of others, I can still choose to honor God and serve people.

I'm including a clip from a teaching I heard this week. I think it's a real stretch to include it with a passage like we have today. BUT, I believe it's very useful information for us as we move further into a post-modern culture. Many of our well-meaning churches have not led us well in creating healthy relationships in the home, work, and community. If we are going to have the strength to withstand false accusation and hurtful responses from those around us, I think we must become more grounded in the lessons taught in this podcast.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. And, remember, I'm not making a real connection in our Acts work. I just firmly believe this information is good relational information. If there's anything we should do well as Christians if we hope to make a difference in this world, it's relationships. :)

God, use the words of our passage, the words of my post, and the words of this podcast to meet my sisters. I don't know why, but I believe this is the direction you've had me go this week in sharing. So, I'm trusting You to use it as You always do. Amen.