Today’s Passage: Acts 21:22

I love to study God’s Word. I find the myriad of trails a person can venture down fascinating. And, if you are like me, you probably have a couple of “pet peeves”. 

Here is one of mine. It is when I hear someone who is talking about the Scriptures say, “Well, St. Paul says…or…that is St. Paul” with a tone that seems to indicate that what we are reading is purely human.

When we read the Bible, we are reading and hearing, from God and His Word.

So, I want us to pause. We are turning into the close of the Book of Acts…Paul will stand before religious authorities and a number of government authorities…all the way to Caesar’s door.  

What will we take away? I pray that I will take away more than “head knowledge”. It is why I have selected this little verse—and yes, I have pulled it out of context—but let’s consider:

22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

It is the verse that James utters when Paul arrives in Jerusalem…Paul, this person who is a radical because he follows Jesus. 

The same question applies to us. To follow Jesus is to be a radical from the norms of our day. What will we do when our friends and family have heard we are following this man Jesus?

So, before we turn into the home stretch, let me just highlight what I asked when we began.

I wrote,

I suggest we each think about whether or not we are certain about just who Jesus is. I am asking myself: Am I certain he is the Son of God come to earth? Am I certain his death on the Cross was for my sins? Am I certain his resurrection defeated the curse of sin in my life? Will I follow him?

I continued,

I asked these questions of myself in order that I read the Book of Acts not merely as information about what saints of old did. No, I must read the Book of Acts as an instructive for how I should live today—with certainty.

We have been reading what life looks like when someone lives with certainty about Jesus, and lives it in a big way.

We are about to read more, and my suggestion is that we see the application in our lives.

In preparation, as we pause at this juncture before we press to the finish, let me ask- How has God’s Word in the Acts of the Apostles pulled at you and your following of the Master?