Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / December 12 - Acts 24

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December 12 - Acts 24 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

• 0:11
  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday.
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  It is the 12th of December. And yeah, I know I've, I've kind
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  of lost a little bit of my credibility when it comes to
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  knowing what date it is, seeing as I got the date wrong on
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  Monday. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
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  It's all just too late to go back and change it now isn't it?
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  But ah, well, that's what you get.
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  I'm not an AI powered bot, I'm just a dude and people make
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  mistakes. So at least we know today is
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  actually the 12th, or if you're listening to it on a different
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  day. It's all a bit academic, isn't
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  it? But the 12th of December is
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  actually a brilliant day because the 12th of December is the
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  International Day of Neutrality. This is a day when the world
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  recognises those parts of the world that have dedicated
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  themselves to remaining neutral territory.
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  I didn't realise this, but Switzerland actually in 1815,
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  all that time ago, dedicated themselves and were permanently
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  deemed a neutral state that would never take sides in a war.
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  Amazing. I did not realise that that was
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  a permanent status developed so long ago.
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  But there you have it, a day of neutrality to celebrate and
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  recognise the places that have dedicated themselves to always
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  remaining not in one camp or another, but in the centre of
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  things happening. So today I'm going to chop
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  something with my Swiss Army knife and I'm going to eat some
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  Swiss chocolate. Not quite sure how else I can
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  celebrate Neutrality Day. Maybe not taking sides, but I
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  don't need to. There you go.
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  Having said all that, today is definitely not neutral in our
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  Bible reading. This is the day that Paul comes
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  before Felix the governor, and he states his case not
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  neutrally, but very, very much with his agenda of sharing the
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  good news about Jesus. So let us join him and hear what
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  he has to say as we read together Acts chapter 24.
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  Five days later, Ananias, the high priest arrived with some of
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  the Jewish elders and the lawyer Turtleis to present their case
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  against Paul to the governor. When Paul came in, Turtleis
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  presented the charges against Paul in the following address to
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  the governor. You have long provided a long
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  period of peace for us Jews and with foresight have enacted
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  reforms for us. For all of this, Your
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  Excellency, we are very grateful to you.
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  But I don't want to bore you, so please give me your attention
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  for only a moment. We have found this man to be a
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  troublemaker who is constantly stirring up riots amongst the
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  Jews all over the world. He is a a ringleader of the cult
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  known as the Nazarenes. Furthermore, he was trying to
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  desecrate the temple when we arrested him.
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  You can find out the truth of our accusations by examining him
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  yourself. Then the other Jews chimed in
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  declaring that everything Turtle has said was true.
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  The governor then motioned for Paul to speak.
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  Paul said. I know, Sir, that you have been
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  a judge of Jewish affairs for many years, so I gladly present
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  my defence before you. You can quickly discover that I
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  arrived in Jerusalem no more than 12 days ago to worship at
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  the Temple. My accusers never found me
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  arguing with anyone in the Temple, nor stirring up a riot
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  in any synagogue or on the streets of the city.
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  These men cannot prove the things they accuse me of doing,
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  but I admit that I follow the way which they call a cult.
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  I worship the God of our ancestors, and I firmly believe
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  the Jewish law and everything written in the prophets.
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  I have the same hope in God that these men have, that He will
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  raise both the righteous and the unrighteous.
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  Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience
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  before God and all people. After several years away, I
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  returned to Jerusalem with money to aid my people and to offer
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  sacrifices to God. My accusers saw me in the temple
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  as I was completing a purification ceremony.
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  There was no crowd around me and no rioting, but some Jews from
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  the province of Asia were there and they ought to be here to
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  bring charges if they have anything against me.
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  Ask these men here what crime the Jewish High Council found me
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  guilty of, except for the one time I shouted out I am on trial
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  before you today because I believe in the resurrection of
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  the dead. At that point, Felix, who was
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  quite familiar with the way, adjourned the hearing and said
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  wait until Lyceus, the Garrison commander, arrives, then I will
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  decide the case. He ordered an officer to keep
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  Paul in custody but to give him some freedom and allow his
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  friends to visit him and take care of his needs.
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  A few days later, Felix came back with his wife Drusilla, who
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  was Jewish, sending for Paul. They listened as he told them
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  about faith in Christ Jesus. As he reasoned with them about
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  righteousness and self control and the coming day of judgement.
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  Felix became frightened. Go away for now, he replied.
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  When it is more convenient, I'll call for you again.
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  He also hoped that Paul would bribe him, so he sent for him
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  quite often and talked with him. After two years went by in this
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  way, Felix was succeeded by Porsches Festus, and because
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  Felix wanted to gain favour with the Jewish people, he left Paul
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  in prison. Jesus, you know just as well as
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  us that life takes its twists and its turns and that sometimes
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  we scratch our heads and we think, how, Lord, how can this
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  be part of your plan for my life?
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  Lord, I pray that you just give us that peace that you have
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  promised us that surpasses all understanding when we rest our
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  hearts in you and in your plans for us and our lives and your
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  world. Lord, we know that You have our
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  eternal future firmly in Your grasp, and we know that You have
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  our best interests at heart because You love us more than
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  life itself. So we thank You for holding us
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  in the palm of Your hand, and we pray that You bolster our faith
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  and give us Your peace as we endure whatever it is that life
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  throws at us, knowing that we serve You and that in Your
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  hands, everything will come to Your conclusion in Your timing,
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  even though we won't understand it.
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  So we submit to Your rule and your kingship and pray all of
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  this in your holy and mighty name, Jesus, Amen.