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October 25 - Acts 24 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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Hello friends, and welcome to today's episode of A chapter, A
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Day Bible Reading, where I, your host Sean, will not talk to you
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like that anymore. Hello friends, lovely to have
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you company. I hope you are going well, as
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today you have decided to, at this very moment, tap on play.
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And here we are. We are going to read another
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chapter of the Bible. We are up to the point in Acts
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where things slow right down as far as a narrative goes.
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Paul stops running from place to place to place to place, and now
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he settles into a time that he will spend under lock and key by
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those more powerful than him. And in that space, he continues
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to find a way to speak the good news of Jesus.
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So let us put down whatever it is that's going on for the
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moment, whether you're walking or lying or driving or sitting.
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Great to have your company as we settle our hearts and come
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before God. Hearing His words as recorded in
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Acts Chapter 24. Five days later, Ananias, the
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high priest, arrived with some of the Jewish elders and the
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lawyer Turtleus to present their case against Paul to the
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Governor. When Paul was called in,
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Turtleus presented the charges against Paul in the following
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address to the Governor. You have provided a long period
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of peace for us Jews and with foresight have enacted reforms
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for us. For all of this, Your
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Excellency, we are very grateful to you, but I don't want to bore
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you, so please give me your attention for only a moment.
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We have found this man to be a troublemaker who is constantly
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stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world.
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He is a ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes.
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Furthermore, he was trying to desecrate the Temple when we
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arrested him. You can find out the truth of
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his accusations by examining him yourself.
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Then the other Jews chimed in, declaring that everything
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Turtler said was true. The governor then motioned for
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Paul to speak. Paul said, I know, Sir, that you
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have been a judge of Jewish affairs for many years, so I
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gladly present my defense before you.
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You can quickly discover that I arrived in Jerusalem no more
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than 12 days ago to worship at the Temple.
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My accusers never found me arguing with anyone in the
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Temple, nor stirring up a riot in any synagogue or on the
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streets of the city. These men cannot prove the
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things they are accusing me of doing, but I admit that I follow
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the way which they call a cult. I worship the God of our
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ancestors, and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything
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written in the prophets. I have the same hope in God that
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these men have that he will raise both the righteous and the
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unrighteous. Because of this, I always try to
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maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.
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After several years away, I returned to Jerusalem with money
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to aid my people and to offer sacrifices to God.
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My accusers saw me in the temple as I was completing A
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purification ceremony. There was no crowd around me and
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no rioting, but some Jews from the province of Asia were there,
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and they ought to be here to bring charges if they had
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anything against me. Ask these men here what crime
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the Jewish High Council found me guilty of, except for the one
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time I shouted out. I am on trial before you today
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because I believe in the resurrection of the dead.
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At that point, Felix, who was quite familiar with the way,
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adjourned the hearing and said wait until Lysias, the Garrison
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commander, arrives, then I will decide the case.
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He ordered an officer to keep Paul in custody, but to give him
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some freedom and allow his friends to visit him and take
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care of his needs. A few days later Felix came back
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with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, sending for Paul.
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They listened as he told them about faith in Christ Jesus, as
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he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control
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and the coming day of judgement. Felix became frightened.
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Go away for now, he replied. When it is more convenient, I'll
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call for you again. He also hoped that Paul would
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bribe him, so he sent for him quite often and talked with him.
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After two years went by. In this way, Felix was succeeded
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by Porsches Festus, And because Felix wanted to gain favour with
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the Jewish people, he left Paul in prison.
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Jesus, Sometimes following you can feel like we are strapped to
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a locomotive, powering in these directions we did not
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anticipate, and other times following you seems like stuck
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in a dead end, going nowhere, just being asked to be faithful
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again and again and again in the challenges of each moment.
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Lord, as we hear the story of Paul stuck in this limbo for two
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years, it's a great encouragement that even Paul and
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his ministry had these moments. So, Lord, I just pray that you
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strengthen us and continue to let your faith build in US and
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shape us and inspire us, even if service, true heartfelt service
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for you and your Kingdom can feel incredibly mundane and dry.
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And like drudgery, Holy Spirit, give us your comfort.
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Draw us closer to you. Give us a broader perspective
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than just this moment so we can be aware that you are a God of
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the eternal, and that your plans are enormous and perfect, and we
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can have faith that we can just take one step at a time being
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faithful to you, and that that is all you call us to do.
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Thank you, Jesus. We love you and we pray.
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All of this in your name. Amen.