We begin reading the most comprehensive letter Paul wrote to any church on his missionary journeys. The book of Romans was written to answer questions from Jewish and Gentile believers. The Jews who have attacked him at every turn were categorized into two groups; those insisting that you could only be saved by converting to Judaism and those who insisted the message of salvation was for Jews and Jews alone. As such, to become a true follower of Jesus, you had to become a Jew first. Paul counters this teachings with some strong explanation throughout the book of Romans insisting the law counts for nothing, no one can be justified by the law, only faith in Christ Jesus suffices.

Paul says; "For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes - the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the scriptures say, it is through faith that a righteous person has life."

Paul's message was clear; this Good News saves all who turn to God through Christ. It is the Good News because unlike the law that condemned, faith tells us we can be saved and how we come to a right standing with God.

Secondly, this great feat is accomplished from start to finish, not by the works and ability of the individual to obey the Jewish laws of Moses, but by faith in Jesus. From start to finish, from the point we come to God to the point we meet him, our walk is a walk of faith. Everything in between is accomplished by faith. In other words, there is nothing to boast about. Everyone of us is a product of Faith and Grace.

As the book of Acts of the Apostles concludes, it is important to realize that Luke who wrote it never intended it was to capture all of the acts of the apostles, there were probably more acts by the other apostles put together than what was captured for Paul. My belief is that the acts of the apostles are even still being captured today. that i. Luke's goal was to give us, or more appropriately, Theophilus, a taste of what God was doing through the believers then.

The early Christians faced so of the most gruesome treatment from the authorities of their time especially from the emperor Nero. Paul himself was beheaded, the apostle Peter was crucified. Some of them were hanged, others were boiled in hot oil, others were flailed and skinned alive with the crowd cheering along. They were hung upside down on hooks, fed to lions, killed with the sword for sport, and yet they stood for their faith. It is with that company that our acts will be counted on that day when we stand before God.

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." Matthew 16:24-25 NLT.

"God blesses those who are

persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven! And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way." Matthew 5:11-12 NLT.

How do you choose when faced with a difficult choice? That's the focus of today's devotional as we see Paul, the captain that was in charge, the ship's crew and Paul's travelling companions were faced with a difficult choice; to stay in an harbour Crete that was not so suitable, probably small, or risk being caught in the storm and head to another harbour called Phoenix. Phoenix was a much more suitable place to winter in than Crete. It was one man's decision against the majority.

We struggled along the coast with great difficulty and finally arrived at Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. We had lost a lot of time. The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall, and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers about it. “Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.” But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul. And since Fair Havens was an exposed harbor—a poor place to spend the winter—most of the crew wanted to go on to Phoenix, farther up the coast of Crete, and spend the winter there. Phoenix was a good harbor with only a southwest and northwest exposure.

Acts of the Apostles 27:8‭-‬12 NLT.

Paul choice was dictated by the leading of the Holy Spirit. The crew was making their decision based on experience and unanimous consent. The rest like they say is history, the unanimous choice was the wrong one.

All Christians must learn to make decisions by the leading of the Holy Spirit and not necessarily follow the crowd.

The apostle Paulinitially made a defense before the garrison commander; Claudias Lysias, and then before the Jewish high council. In today's devotional, he makes his defense before governors Felix and Festus, and eventually before king Agrippa. To someone looking in from afar, Paul seems reckless and cares nothing for his life. But look at what the Lord Jesus himself said about the present trials Paul was going through;

That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.”

Acts of the Apostles 23:11 NLT.

It was risky yes, but it was probably the first time some of them ever heard the Good news one on one. Secondly, Jesus said Paul was a witness for him, is that not what He commissioned us to, to be his witnessess?

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT.

Be ready to preach the gospel and be a witness for Jesus.

Daily devotional with Pastor Murphy - August 15 - Acts of the Apostles 21-22 NLT 👇👇👇👇

It's amazing to read about the resilience and boldness of Paul in the face of oppositions. His determination and tact to mount a defense for his conviction is simply splendid.

Defending ones faith against attacks; from enemies within and outside the Church is something that is ever more prevalent today. As believers that might need to stand up for our convictions, let's learn from him. Like Paul, we must be ready to speak

*“Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.” When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater.*

Acts of the Apostles 22:1‭-‬2 NLT.

That was tact and wisdom. He knew they would listen the minute they heard him speak in Aramaic. His defense was also meticulous and constructive. And so for example, could you make a defense of your faith against those who say Jesus is not the Son of God? From aethist who say there is no God at all, could you make a defense against that?

To defend your faith, it's important to have knowledge; a sound knowledge of the God you serve and worship. The prophet Daniel said those who know their God will be strong. Be grounded in your understanding of the scriptures too and of how God's plan for humanity has unfolded from the Old to the New testament, and how God has revealed himself us through Christ Jesus.

The apostle Paul after spending 3 years teaching the believers in Ephesus leaves them a message I believe still resonates with us today;

*“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.*

Acts of the Apostles 20:28 NLT.

We must be ready to guard this precious treasure purchased with the blood of the son of God. Our faith is precious! Our salvation is precious. So we must guard and watchover it.

From whom do we need to watch? Paul answers this;

*I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.*

Acts of the Apostles 20:29‭-‬30 NLT.

From false teachers, people who distort the truth for their own gain. They are vicious wolves set on the flock by satan himself. We must take care to watch.

How do we watch? Paul answers this question in verses 32 through to 36;

*“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself. You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them.*

Acts of the Apostles 20:32‭, ‬34‭-‬36 NLT.

We watch by paying attention to God's word; Paul says remember the words of the Lord Jesus. Always ask yourself whenever you are faced with a confusing situation; what did Jesus say about this?

Secondly, Paul says we watch by being careful to be example of the word. We are role models and we reflect Christ.

Lastly, Paul says; pray. We watch by praying to and being close to the Father.

Can you present Jesus the Messiah through the scriptures. In today's devotional, Apollos comes on the stage and we see him here present Christ using the scriptures.

Apollos had been thinking about going to Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him to go. They wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to welcome him. When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God’s grace, had believed. He refuted the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah.

Acts of the Apostles 18:27‭-‬28 NLT.

The New testament as we understand it had not been written so the scriptures being referred to here is the Old testament which would have comprised; the Pentateuch (the 5 books of Moses), the historical books, Psalms and Proverbs, and the Prophetic books. Using this, Apollos who at this point knew only the Old testament, was still able to present Christ as the Messiah. Can you preach Christ from the Old testament?

It is almost jarring to see the extent Paul went through to see the gospel preached, even in the face of opposition, riot and prison, he shocked them off to tell people that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and saviour of the world.

As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women. But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.” The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

Acts of the Apostles 17:2‭-‬9 NLT.

Just before this event, they had spent a night in jail because they casted a demon out of a girl.

A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!

Acts of the Apostles 16:22‭-‬26 NLT.

All true believers must also preach the gospel no matter the obstacles we face.

In today's devotional, Barnabas and Paul had such a sharp disagreement over John Mark to the point they went their separate ways.

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 missionary journey. 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. 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 the issue from different perspectives. The lesson here is to not allow issues become so divisive they lead to division.

Barnabas was right because this his one action is probably the reason why we have the book of Mark in our Bible today. Paul was also right because Mark could have impacted the moral of the team if he fled at the next challenge. We must learn to see others perspectives.

In today's devotional, we noticed a very simple comment that would reverberate through the New testament. It's about this one action by John Mark to abandon the missionary assignment at a time things became turbulent. His action led to Paul and Barnabas going their separate ways.

Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services.

Acts of the Apostles 13:13‭-‬14 NLT.

What is your response to difficulties, trials and tribulations? Do you give up on Christ because the way is turbulent for you? Paul and Barnabas understood differently and they told us;

"They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God."

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 telling the believers that we must be willing to serve the Lord, whatever comes. That is what it means to be a true follower.

My charge this morning is; be willing and ready to follow Jesus no matter what; in sickness, in health, in wealth or poverty, in joy or sorrow, be willing to follow him.