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September 17 - Acts 21 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday.
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  It is the 17th of September and it is my, well, kind of my
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  dubious pleasure to wish you a very happy International Country
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  Music Day. If you are a country music fan,
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  today is the one day that you can just put on your favourite
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  tunes unabashedly and when people complain, you can say it
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  is my day. It is International Day of
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  Country twang and music. If you are into that, God bless
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  you. Knock your socks off.
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  If you are not into country music, put your headphones on
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  and run through the day and maybe you can avoid some.
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  It's, it's a fairly divisive topic.
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  Look, I don't mind a little bit of Garth Brooks and Shania
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  Twain, although I think that's pretty soft as far as country
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  music goes. I'm sure there are country
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  Western fans out there who would go.
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  Ah, Sean, you've got no idea. And yes, that is probably true,
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  but that's OK. But country music aside, there
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  are other things going on today. Like today is Part 1 of the two
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  part story that ends with a cliffhanger today and then gets
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  picked up and finished off tomorrow.
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  So we are going to read the first half, which ends with Paul
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  taking a deep inhalation, ready to share this phenomenal message
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  to an angry crowd. And then we'll have to wait all
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  day until tomorrow to hear that message.
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  So let us read this story as we share together Acts chapter 21.
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  After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed
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  straight to the island of Kos. The next day we reached roads
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  and then went to Patara. There we boarded a ship sailing
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  for Phoenicia. We sighted the island of Cyprus,
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  passed it on our left and landed at the harbour of Tyre in Syria,
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  where the ship was to unload its cargo.
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  We went to shore, found the local believers and stayed with
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  them for a week. These believers prophesied
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  through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go to Jerusalem.
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  When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire
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  congregation, including women and children, left the city and
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  came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed and set
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  our farewells. Then we went aboard and they
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  returned home. The next stop after leaving Tyre
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  was Tolomase, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and
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  stayed for one day. The next day we went on to say
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  Syria and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of
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  the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.
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  He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
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  Several days later, a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of
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  prophecy, arrived from Judea. He came over, took Paul's belt
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  and bound his own feet and hands with it.
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  Then he said, The Holy Spirit declares, So shall the owner of
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  this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned
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  over to the Gentiles. When we heard this, we and the
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  local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
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  But he said, Why all this weeping?
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  You're breaking my heart. I am ready not only to be gaoled
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  at Jerusalem, but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.
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  When it was clear that we couldn't persuade him, we gave
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  up and said the Lord's will be done.
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  After this, we packed our things and left for Jerusalem.
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  Some believers from, Say, Saria accompanied us, and they took us
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  to the home of Manassen, a man originally from Cyprus and one
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  of the early believers. When we arrived, the brothers
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  and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly.
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  The next day, Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the
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  elders of the Jerusalem church were present.
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  After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things
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  God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.
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  After hearing this, they praised God.
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  And then they said, you know, dear brother, how many thousands
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  of Jews have also believed? And they all follow the law of
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  Moses very seriously. But the Jewish believers here in
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  Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews
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  who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of
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  Moses. They've heard that you teach
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  them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish
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  customs. What should we do?
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  They will certainly hear that you have come.
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  Here's what we want you to do. We have 4 men here who have
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  completed their vow. Go with them to the temple and
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  join them in the purification ceremony, paying for them to
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  have their heads ritually shaved.
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  Then everyone will know that the rumours are all false and that
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  you yourself observed the Jewish laws.
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  As for the Gentile believers, they should do what we already
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  told them in a letter. They should abstain from eating
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  food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of
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  strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.
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  So Paul went to the temple the next day with the other men.
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  They had already started the purification ritual, so he
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  publicly announced the date when their vows would end and
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  sacrifices would be offered for each of them.
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  The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province
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  of Asia saw Paul in the temple and roused a mob against him.
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  They grabbed him yelling Men of Israel, help us.
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  This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere
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  and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws.
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  He speaks against the temple and even defiles this holy place by
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  bringing in Gentiles, for earlier that day they had seen
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  him in the city with Trophemus, A Gentile from Ephesus, and they
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  assumed Paul had taken him into the temple.
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  The whole city was rocked by these accusations and a great
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  riot followed. Paul was grabbed and dragged out
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  of the temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind
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  him. As they were trying to kill him,
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  word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all
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  Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately called out his
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  soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd.
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  When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they
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  stopped beating Paul. Then the commander arrested him
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  and ordered him bound with two chains.
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  He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done.
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  Some shouted one thing and some another.
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  Since he couldn't find out the truth and all the uproar and
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  confusion, he ordered that Paul be taken to the fortress.
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  As Paul reached the stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers
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  had to lift him to their shoulders to protect him, and
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  the crowd followed behind shouting Kill him, kill him.
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  As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the
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  commander, May I have a word with you?
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  Do you know Greek? The commander asked, surprised.
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  Aren't you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and
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  took 4000 members of the assassins out into the desert?
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  No, Paul replied. I am a Jew and a citizen of
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  Tarsus in Cecilia, which is an important city.
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  Please let me talk to these people.
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  The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned
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  to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped
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  the crowd and he addressed them in their own language.
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  Aramaic. Oh Lord, even you love a
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  cliffhanger, but thank you for your words.
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  Thank you for the message that you have for us.
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  Thank you for the example of Paul, that you draw him to
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  Jerusalem. And while others can see that
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  this is a dangerous move for him, he just boldly responds to
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  what he believes. Your call is for him.
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  Jesus, you have a bigger agenda than just our comfort today.
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  Your Kingdom has got bigger boundaries and a more important
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  mission than the things that we would think about day in and day
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  out. So like you did with Paul, Lord,
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  I just pray that you convict us that following your plan for our
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  lives, that stepping out in faith to serve you, that this is
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  the most important thing that we can do and at the details of our
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  life. Wow, that is held in your hands,
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  your loving, providing generous hands, but that you draw us into
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  a life of service to you, Our Lord, shift our lenses of our
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  eyes and our hearts. That we would see and experience
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  this world as you do, seeing your priorities and that they
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  become ours. And that we are willing to step
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  out in faith, boldly answering the call, your Kingdom call, and
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  not always looking out for our own well being and our own
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  comfort. So here we are, Lord, your
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  people, take us, use us. We are yours, and we love you
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  and we are loved by you. And it's in your loving name
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  that we pray, Jesus, Amen.