Saturday 22 Oct 2022

October 22: Acts 28:17-31

Key Verse: Acts 28:19
The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people.

Devotion:
How many times have you done something hoping it would fix a bad situation only for it to make things worse? I’m sure we have all had things go wrong for us while we have been trying to fix things… this is just what life is like; sometimes we are going to have things go wrong even when we believe they should not.

Paul wanted to be able to tell people all about Jesus, but the more he tried to do this the more he seemed to get into trouble. So much so he ran away to Rome (because he was born as a Romans citizen) so he could get a court to side with him and stop the persecution he felt under.

Sometimes it is a very real persecution we are going to face in our lives, even from the people around us whom we believe should be helping and supporting us. This is not because they have turned bad, gone against us or other things we may think of, but more akin to being in the wrong place at the wrong time as the evil one does his thing!

When we come to our senses and start to see what is really happening, we should set the record straight with the people around us so they do not feel like there is angst between them and us. God wants us to keep the truth in our lives and that sometimes means we have to speak the truth when it will go against the people around us. The truth is better heard now than heard after it is too late!

Points to Ponder:
Do you hold back the truth because you feel hard done by?

Will you share Jesus’ truth before it is too late?