Latest / Bible Chat Devotional / February 21 - Integrity When Obedience Is Costly

Transcript

February 21 - Integrity When Obedience Is Costly · Bible Chat Devotional

• 0:02
  Welcome to Bible Chat, where we have devotional conversations
• 0:06
  rooted in Scripture and relevant for today, February 21st, when
• 0:12
  integrity gets tested. Have you ever felt that knot in
• 0:15
  your stomach when you knew the right thing to do would cost you
• 0:17
  something? Maybe it meant telling the truth
• 0:20
  when it could get you in trouble, refusing to join in
• 0:23
  even when everyone else was, or standing firm in your faith when
• 0:27
  it would have been easier to stay quiet.
• 0:30
  Those moments reveal what's really guiding your life.
• 0:33
  Proverbs Chapter 11, verses 3 to 4, tells us that the integrity
• 0:37
  of the upright guides them, but crookedness destroys those who
• 0:41
  choose it. It also reminds us that riches
• 0:44
  won't save us when it really matters, but righteousness will.
• 0:48
  Integrity isn't just about avoiding trouble.
• 0:52
  It's about having a compass that keeps pointing you in the right
• 0:54
  direction when pressure tries to pull you off course.
• 0:58
  We see this lived out clearly in the life of Paul.
• 1:00
  In Acts chapters 21 to 22. Paul is misunderstood, falsely
• 1:06
  accused, and surrounded by hostility.
• 1:09
  He's facing real danger. Yet in the middle of all of it,
• 1:12
  he does abandoned who he is or why God called him.
• 1:16
  In Acts chapter 22, verse 14, he recounts how God appointed him
• 1:20
  to know his will, to see the righteous 1 and to hear his
• 1:23
  voice. Paul understood something deep.
• 1:26
  His life wasn't his own. He was living on assignment.
• 1:30
  That sense of calling shaped how Paul responded under pressure.
• 1:34
  Even when he spoke sharply and later realized he had addressed
• 1:38
  the high priest disrespectfully, he immediately owned it.
• 1:42
  In Acts chapter 23, verse 5, Paul acknowledges the authority
• 1:46
  of God's Word and corrects himself, choosing respect even
• 1:50
  toward leaders who opposed him. That takes integrity.
• 1:54
  It's easy to justify harsh words when you feel mistreated.
• 1:58
  It's harder to stay anchored in righteousness when emotions are
• 2:01
  running high. This is where integrity really
• 2:04
  gets tested. Not when it's convenient, but
• 2:07
  when it's costly. Not when people applaud you, but
• 2:10
  when they question you. Integrity means you don't let
• 2:13
  circumstances rewrite your values.
• 2:16
  You don't let pressure redefine your character.
• 2:18
  You live the same way in public and in private because you know
• 2:21
  God sees both. For us today, integrity flows
• 2:25
  out of purpose. When you know God has called
• 2:28
  you, when you believe your life is meant for more than comfort
• 2:31
  or approval, you're empowered to choose what's right, even when
• 2:34
  it's hard. Integrity becomes an act of
• 2:38
  trust. Trust that God's plan is bigger
• 2:40
  than the moment. Trust that righteousness really
• 2:43
  does deliver. You won't always get it
• 2:45
  perfectly right. Paul didn't.
• 2:48
  But a heart committed to God's purpose is quick to listen,
• 2:51
  quick to correct, and steady in faith.
• 2:53
  When integrity guides you, even hard paths become meaningful
• 2:56
  ones. Let's pray.
• 2:59
  Heavenly Father, thank you for calling me to live with purpose
• 3:02
  and integrity. When my character is tested and
• 3:06
  doing the right thing feels costly, Give me strength to
• 3:09
  choose righteousness over convenience.
• 3:12
  Help me to stay respectful and Christ like even when I'm
• 3:15
  misunderstood or opposed. Anchor my heart and your calling
• 3:18
  for my life and guide me by integrity every step of the way
• 3:22
  in Jesus name, Amen. What if the way you pray changed
• 3:27
  because you truly knew who God is?
• 3:30
  The Supreme God Part 1 is an 8 book devotional and prayer
• 3:33
  journey that unveils the power, presence and glory of God
• 3:37
  through His biblical names. In Elohim you encounter God, the
• 3:41
  Mighty Creator who forms and sustains all things.
• 3:44
  Yahweh draws you into relationship with the eternal I
• 3:47
  AM who is present and faithful. Adonai calls you to surrender to
• 3:51
  the Lord and Master who leads and directs your steps.
• 3:54
  El Elyon reveals the God Most High, exalted above every power
• 3:59
  and authority. El Shaddai introduces the all
• 4:02
  sufficient God who nourishes and strengthens you.
• 4:05
  El Olam anchors your faith in the everlasting God whose
• 4:08
  purposes never fail. Elroy assures you that you are
• 4:11
  seen, known, and cared for by a compassionate father, and El
• 4:16
  Gibor awakens confidence in the mighty God who defends,
• 4:19
  delivers, and prevails. Through Scripture, devotional
• 4:22
  insight, and prophetic prayer scripts, this series teaches you
• 4:26
  to pray from revelation, worship with understanding, and walk
• 4:29
  boldly in God's character. If you're ready to elevate your
• 4:32
  prayer life and rediscover the God you serve, order the Supreme
• 4:35
  God Part One on Amazon today or visit prayerscripts.org to begin
• 4:39
  your journey. Now I invite you to spend time
• 4:43
  with God in today's three-year Bible reading plan.
• 4:47
  Proverbs Chapter 11 verses 3 to 4 World English Bible.
• 4:51
  The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the
• 4:54
  perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
• 4:57
  Riches don't profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness
• 5:00
  delivers from death. Acts, Chapters 21 to 22, World
• 5:04
  English Bible. When we had departed from them
• 5:07
  and had set sail, we came with a straight course to Cos, and the
• 5:10
  next day to Roads, and from there to Patura.
• 5:13
  Having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went
• 5:16
  aboard and set sail. When we had come inside of
• 5:19
  Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed to Syria and
• 5:23
  landed at Tyre, for the ship was there to unload her cargo.
• 5:26
  Having found disciples, we stayed there seven days.
• 5:30
  These said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go up
• 5:33
  to Jerusalem. When those days were over, we
• 5:35
  departed and went on our journey.
• 5:37
  They all, with wives and children, brought us on our way
• 5:40
  until we were out of the city. Kneeling down on the beach, we
• 5:44
  prayed. After saying goodbye to each
• 5:46
  other, we went on board the ship and they returned home again.
• 5:49
  When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at
• 5:52
  Tolmai's. We greeted the brothers and
• 5:54
  stayed with them one day. On the next day we, who were
• 5:58
  Paul's companions departed and came to Caesarea.
• 6:01
  We entered into the House of Philip the Evangelist, who was
• 6:04
  one of the seven, and stayed with him.
• 6:06
  Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
• 6:09
  As we stayed there some days a certain prophet named Agabus
• 6:13
  came down from Judea coming to us and taking Paul's belt.
• 6:17
  He bound his own feet and hands, and said, The Holy Spirit says
• 6:21
  so. The Jews at Jerusalem will bind
• 6:23
  the man who owns this belt, and will deliver him into the hands
• 6:26
  of the Gentiles. When we heard these things, both
• 6:29
  we and the people of that place begged him not to go up to
• 6:32
  Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What are you
• 6:35
  doing? Weeping and breaking my heart?
• 6:37
  For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at
• 6:40
  Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
• 6:43
  When he would not be persuaded, we ceased saying, The Lord's
• 6:46
  will be done. After these days we took up our
• 6:49
  baggage and went up to Jerusalem.
• 6:51
  Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us,
• 6:54
  bringing 1M Nasen of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we
• 6:58
  would stay when we had come to Jerusalem.
• 7:01
  The brothers received us gladly. The day following Paul went in
• 7:05
  with us to James, and all the elders were present.
• 7:08
  When he had greeted them. He reported 1 by 1 the things
• 7:11
  which God had worked among the Gentiles through his ministry.
• 7:14
  They, when they heard it, glorified God.
• 7:17
  They said to him, You see, brother, how many thousands
• 7:20
  there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and
• 7:22
  they are all zealous for the Law.
• 7:24
  They have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews
• 7:27
  who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not
• 7:31
  to circumcise their children and not to walk after the customs.
• 7:35
  What then? The assembly must certainly
• 7:37
  meet, for they will hear that you have come.
• 7:39
  Therefore do what we tell you. We have 4 men who have taken a
• 7:42
  vow. Take them and purify yourself
• 7:45
  with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may
• 7:47
  shave their heads. Then all will know that there is
• 7:50
  no truth in the things that they have been informed about you,
• 7:53
  but that you yourself also walk, keeping the law.
• 7:56
  But concerning the Gentiles who believe we have written our
• 7:59
  decision, that they should observe no such thing, except
• 8:02
  that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from
• 8:06
  blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality.
• 8:10
  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purified himself and
• 8:14
  went with them into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the
• 8:17
  days of purification, until the offering was offered for every
• 8:20
  one of them. When the seven days were almost
• 8:23
  completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple,
• 8:26
  stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him, crying out,
• 8:30
  Men of Israel help. This is the man who teaches all
• 8:33
  men everywhere against the people and the law and this
• 8:36
  place. Moreover, he also brought Greeks
• 8:39
  into the temple, and has defiled this holy place.
• 8:42
  For they had seen Trophemus the Ephesian with him in the city,
• 8:46
  and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
• 8:48
  All the city was moved, and the people ran together.
• 8:51
  They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple.
• 8:54
  Immediately the doors were shut. As they were trying to kill him,
• 8:58
  news came up to the commanding officer of the regiment that all
• 9:01
  Jerusalem was in an uproar. Immediately he took soldiers and
• 9:05
  centurions and ran down to them. They, when they saw the chief
• 9:08
  captain and the soldiers, stopped beating Paul.
• 9:11
  Then the commanding officer came near, arrested him, commanded
• 9:15
  him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what
• 9:18
  he had done. Some shouted one thing and some
• 9:21
  another among the crowd. When he couldn't find out the
• 9:24
  truth because of the noise, he commanded him to be brought into
• 9:27
  the barracks. When he came to the stairs he
• 9:29
  was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the
• 9:32
  crowd, for the multitude of the people followed after crying out
• 9:36
  away with him. As Paul was about to be brought
• 9:38
  into the barracks, he asked the commanding officer, May I speak
• 9:42
  to you? He said, Do you know Greek?
• 9:44
  Aren't you then the Egyptian who before these days stirred up to
• 9:47
  sedition and LED out into the wilderness the 4000 men of the
• 9:51
  assassins? But Paul said, I am a Jew from
• 9:54
  Tarsus in Silesia, a citizen of no insignificant city.
• 9:59
  I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.
• 10:01
  When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on
• 10:04
  the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the people.
• 10:06
  When there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew
• 10:09
  language, saying, Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense
• 10:13
  which I now make to you. When they heard that he spoke to
• 10:16
  them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet.
• 10:19
  He said, I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Silesia, but
• 10:23
  brought up in this city at the feet of Gammaleal, instructed
• 10:26
  according to the strict tradition of the law of our
• 10:29
  fathers, being zealous for God even as you all are today.
• 10:33
  I persecuted this way to the death, binding and delivering
• 10:36
  into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest and all
• 10:41
  the counsel of the elders testify, from whom also I
• 10:44
  received letters to the brothers and traveled to Damascus to
• 10:48
  bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be
• 10:50
  punished. As I made my journey and came
• 10:53
  close to Damascus about noon, suddenly a great light shone
• 10:57
  around me from the sky. I fell to the ground and heard a
• 11:00
  voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
• 11:03
  I answered, Who are you, Lord? He said to me, I am Jesus of
• 11:07
  Nazareth whom you persecute. Those who were with me indeed
• 11:11
  saw the light and were afraid, but they didn't understand the
• 11:13
  voice of him who spoke to me. I said, What shall I do, Lord?
• 11:17
  The Lord said to me, Arise and go into Damascus.
• 11:20
  There you will be told about all things which are appointed for
• 11:23
  you to do. When I couldn't see, for the
• 11:25
  glory of that light being led by the hand of those who were with
• 11:28
  me, I came into Damascus. One Ananias, A devout man,
• 11:33
  according to the law well reported of by all the Jews who
• 11:36
  lived in Damascus, came to me and standing by me, said to me,
• 11:40
  Brother Saul, receive your sight.
• 11:42
  In that very hour I looked up at him.
• 11:44
  He said, The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His
• 11:47
  will and to see the righteous, 1 and to hear a voice from his
• 11:51
  mouth. For you will be a witness for
• 11:53
  him to all men of what you have seen and heard.
• 11:56
  Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash
• 11:59
  away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord?
• 12:02
  When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the
• 12:04
  temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, Hurry and
• 12:08
  get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive
• 12:11
  testimony concerning me from You.
• 12:13
  I said, Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat
• 12:17
  in every synagogue those who believed in You.
• 12:19
  When the blood of Stephen your witness was shed.
• 12:22
  I also was standing by consenting to his death and
• 12:25
  guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.
• 12:27
  He said to me, depart, for I will send you out far from here
• 12:30
  to the Gentiles. They listen to him until he said
• 12:34
  that. Then they lifted up their voice
• 12:35
  and said, Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn't fit to
• 12:38
  live. As they cried out, threw off
• 12:41
  their cloaks, and threw dust into the air, the commanding
• 12:44
  officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks,
• 12:47
  ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know
• 12:50
  for what crime they shouted against him like that.
• 12:53
  When they had tied him up with straps, Paul asked the centurion
• 12:56
  who stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a
• 13:00
  Roman and not found guilty? When the centurion heard it, he
• 13:04
  went to the commanding officer and told him, Watch what you're
• 13:07
  about to do, for this man is a Roman.
• 13:09
  The commanding officer came and asked him, Tell me, are you a
• 13:12
  Roman? He said yes, the commanding
• 13:15
  officer answered, I bought my citizenship for a great price,
• 13:19
  Paul said. But I was born a Roman.
• 13:22
  Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from
• 13:25
  him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized
• 13:28
  that he was a Roman because he had bound him.
• 13:31
  But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was
• 13:35
  accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds and commanded
• 13:38
  the chief priests and all the council to come together and
• 13:42
  brought Paul down and set him before them.
• 13:45
  Thanks for joining us on Bible Chat, where Scripture meets
• 13:49
  everyday life. If today's devotional encouraged
• 13:52
  you, share it with a friend and be sure to follow the podcast so
• 13:56
  you won't miss the next conversation.
• 13:58
  Until next time, stay rooted in truth, anchored in hope, and
• 14:01
  walking daily with Jesus.