Lead Me, Lord
Opening Prayer
Lord, I want to hear You say that I have known You and walked faithfully before You. This is my heart’s desire.
Read Acts 23:23-35
[23] Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. [24] Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.” [25] He wrote a letter as follows: [26] Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings. [27] This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. [28] I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. [29] I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. [30] When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him. [31] So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. [32] The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. [33] When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. [34] The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, [35] he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How is Paul being given opportunity to advance the Gospel?Paul had a strong calling and many clear prophecies, letting him know God’s future plans for him, but even he didn’t know exactly how it would all come to pass. Paul knew that his journey was going to take him away from Jerusalem to Rome (23:11), but it’s unlikely that he thought his journey would start out in the dead of night, and under the protection of nearly 500 Roman soldiers (23)! It’s so hard to trust our journeys into God’s hands, particularly the mundane details. It doesn’t mean giving up and sitting still–the laws of physics tell us that it’s easier to guide a moving object–but it means remaining open to the fact that God’s plan to get us from one point to the next may not only look totally different from ours, but may involve a detour through unexpected routes that we would never have imagined. For Paul, his course to Rome would take at least two more years (24:27), but it would provide plenty more opportunities for the Gospel to be preached along the way (chs. 24-28).
Apply
Ask God to give You opportunity to share the Gospel. Prepare for routes that are outside what you might expect.
Closing prayer
Lord, help me to be as Paul and see every situation as an opportunity to spread the message of eternal hope.
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