Paul makes his defense before governor Festus, king Agrippa and his sister Bernice. As part of recounting his previous dealing with the Jewish elders and council, Paul makes a claim I want us to focus on in today's devotional. He said; "Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus." Acts 26:10-11. The persecution of Christians started right with Jesus himself. Many of the Apostles died gruesomely; Peter was crucified, James was killed. Philip was tortured and then impaled by iron hooks in his ankle and hung upside down, Andrew too died on the cross but he was not nailed, so he hung on the cross for two whole days. Persecution is not proof that the believer has done anything wrong, often times it is not. In Paul case just like it is mostly today, it was to get them to deny and curse Jesus. In many countries today, Christians are not allowed to profess their faith even when others are allowed to. In some countries, they can't even meet or have a Bible. Jesus warned us this would happen. As such, persecution is a badge to be worn with pride; to suffer for and if need be, die for the name of Jesus. My encouragement this morning, expect persecution, however prepare beforehand and strengthen your resolve. I pray for your, you will not deny or curse Jesus.

Becoming an expert witness for Jesus, that's the focus of our discuss. In Acts chapter 24, the Jewish elders along with their lawyers presented false claims against Paul just as they did against Jesus and Stephen whom they eventually killed. Paul spoke expertly in his defense and used this opportunity to witness about Jesus. To be able to do this, Paul would have needed to prepare, and that is my encouragement this morning; can you present the gospel so others can hear it? Do you even know what the gospel is? All believers should be able to present the good news. Paul will go on to the us in the book of Romans 1:16; "For I am not ashamed of this Good news about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes." My encouragement, be prepared to present the gospel. Few scriptures every Christian should know; Romans 3:23; all have sinned. Romans 6:23; the wages of sin is death. However, God has a solution, John 3:16, "God loves us" even though we are sinner and he made a provision by sending Jesus. Jesus himself said he came to save us; John 10:10. Ask them if they want life? If the answer is Yes, then ask them to come into a relationship with Jesus by choosing and declaring him Lord. It is as simple as that.

Which do you usually choose; God's perfect will or his permissible will? This is the focus as we read Acts chapter 21 and 22. Here, we see Paul finish his third missionary journey and like other times, he wanted to round it off by going up to Jerusalem. The problem was, this time, the Holy Spirit didn't want him to go. Again and again, believers and ministers alike prophesied without knowing Paul that he should not go, and that suffering awaited him in Jerusalem. We will call this the perfect will of God. The Holy Spirit clearly did not want him to go as he was still needed around to continue to reach the Gentile and especially since this route also meant he was going to be confined to a prison and that would limit his ability to preach the gospel. However, remember that God had earlier revealed through Ananias who prayed for Paul when he became a believer that Paul would suffer many things for the sake of preaching the message of Jesus, the question was whether this was one of them. We will call this the permitted or permissible will of God. God is sovereign. When he decides a thing, it becomes so. However, God chose to give man a freewill and the right to exercise it. The Lord will usually not violate the freewill of man to chose. As a result, the responsibility falls on us to know when we are aligned with God's perfect will or his permitted one. From this story, we can say Paul's choice was what led to all his troubles, even though he didn't mind as long as it meant he would reach the Jews too. Walking outside the perfect will of God often lead us away. Please understand me this morning, I am not saying that even in the perfect will of God, there would not have been troubles, however, Paul would have know he was standing in God's perfect and revealed will. Thank God that he is almighty, he is able to take our errors and use them for his purpose. My advise; stay within the perfect will of God, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit whenever he specifically leads you.

"I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?" Acts 19:15. The evil spirit knew Jesus even when he walked on earth. They know Paul because he has a relationship with Jesus, and as a result, had the permission to use the name of Jesus. One thing is clear from this verse, evil spirit and demons can tell if you have a relationship with Jesus and if you have the right to use his name. That was actually the problem with the sons of Sceva, they did not know Jesus. It wasn't the name of Paul demons were bowing to and obeying, it was the person Paul himself was related and submitted to that they were bowing before. My question this morning; do you know Jesus? If demons within your domain spoke about you, will they say they know you because you know Jesus?

Becoming a open-minded Christian, that's our focus this morning. As Paul undertakes his second missionary journey, he is confronted with trouble makers, rioters and those who would rather argue than listen or debate him. Not until he arrives in Berea. The people in Berea were described as noble and open-minded because they listened eagerly to Paul's message and then searched the scriptures themselves to confirm if the things they were being told, by an apostle, lined up with the truth. Believers and Christians today ought to be more like the Berean Christians as compared to those from Thessalonica. We must be eager when it comes listening to the word of God. And then be even more diligent to search the scriptures for ourselves. Sadly, because this quality is lacking in the church today, many false teachings have been allowed to fester and lead many into error. My challenge to you this morning, be a Berean Christian, read and search the Bible for yourself.

Today, we learn some very important lessons in the two chapters we read. First, a sect of the Jewish believers will seek to add something to the message of salvation. They were saying that for the Gentile who were becoming Christians to be truly saved, they had to fulfil the laws of Moses concerning circumcision. The lesson here is to pay attention that you are personally not trying to add anything to the word of God. Secondly, we ought to be careful of those who preach a type of the gospel that does not line up with the New testament. Second lesson, Barnabas and Paul disagrees to the point where they break up. Barnabas, true to his nature, wanted to give John Mark a second chance and allow him come on their second missionary journey even though Mark had abandoned them during the first. Paul on the other hand felt if Mark did it once, he would likely do so again. Paul also preferred that they take Silas instead of Mark. Silas was a prophet, he had a good reputation with the believers and was a Roman citizen. These qualities were going to come in handy for many of the obstacles they would face. In my judgement, Barnabas and Paul were both right, they were just seeing from different perspectives. The lesson here is to not allow issues become so rancorous that they lead to division. This is important whether it's a simple relationship or marriage, we must learn to see things from other people's perspectives. Last lesson, there is a girl in today's reading who was following Paul and Silas about and who was able to predict the future. She was even saying the right things about them. However, she was doing this through the spirit of divination. Lesson here is, just because people say the right things or perform miracles, does not mean they are speaking by the Spirit of God. The Bible says to test every spirit whether they are from God or not. 1John 4:1.

Are you willing to follow the Lord no matter what comes? Acts 14:22; "They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God." Note, Barnabas and Paul weren't saying that our sufferings is what qualifies us to enter the Kingdom, no. Only Jesus' sacrifice suffices for that. They were trying to tell the believers that we must be willing to serve the Lord, whatever comes. If Jesus is our Lord and we serve at his call, then we must be ready for whatever the Lord asks us to do. Earlier, John Mark left them at the slightest hint of trouble and I am guessing many of the believers here would have been wondering whether all of their efforts were necessary. Thank God for the courage of Barnabas and Paul and their willingness to suffer for the sake of the gospel. My charge this morning, are you willing and ready to follow Jesus through thick and thin? Are you willing to serve the Lord whatever comes; in sickness or in health, in wealth or poverty, in joy or sorrow? I am willing.

"But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him." Acts 12:5 NLT. Prayers made earnestly accomplishes the unusual. Here, the earnest prayers by the church, answered by God, brought angelic deliverance for Peter. Praying earnestly means praying sincerely with deep and intense conviction. We seem not to pray like that any more around here. But the Bible tells us that; "The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]." James 5:16 AMPC. Let's get back to praying earnest prayers. Father we pray this morning for everyone who needs an answer, needs a testimony from you. We pray for those who have been waiting on you...let answers come in Jesus name.

Letting go of prejudice will form part of our discuss in today's devotional. Acts of the Apostles chapter 10 marks the first time gentiles as a group become Christians. The process itself is still confusing for some when we read today because it does not fit our understanding of when and how people should accept Christ; without an altar call and without anyone needing to pray for them, this gentiles believed Peter's message, became born again on their own and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Even Peter, an apostle was shocked at the fact that God had broken every protocol to do things that way. However, having seen a vision earlier, he accepted it. He would in turn be confronted for this event. The lesson this morning is to let go of our prejudices and make room for God to be able to do things however he chooses, he is God anyway. Otherwise, we can hinder the work of God. Prejudice and a set mindset can hinder the preaching and sharing of the gospel. Prejudice hinders the anointing. Pray with me this morning; Lord, I let go of my prejudice towards others.

What you need to stand for your faith! In our devotional today, we see the disciple Stephen speaking and standing for his faith in Jesus. Ultimately, he would have to lay down his life for his convictions. Stephen was able to do this because he was full of the Holy Spirit. He simply followed in the footsteps of Jesus. How was Jesus able to go to cross and lay down his life? You are correct if you guessed; by the Holy Spirit. "For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins." Hebrews 9:14. Now you know what you need to do God forbid, if you have to stand for your faith. Holy Spirit, help us! Lastly, it took persecution for the disciples to carry out the instructions of Jesus to preach the gospel first in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and on to the outermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8. Instead, everyone chose to stay in Jerusalem until persecution began. We shouldn't be led by persecution, we ought to instead be led by the Holy Spirit.