March 5th, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Red Light, Green Light?

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, today help me to live my life in purity, in humility, and in love.

Read Acts 21:1-16

[1] After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. [2] We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. [3] After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. [4] We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. [5] When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. [6] After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home. [7] We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. [8] Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. [9] He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. [10] After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. [11] Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'” [12] When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. [13] Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” [14] When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.” [15] After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem. [16] Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.

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.

Meditate

“Trust God and do the next thing” (Oswald Chambers, 1874-1917). This is good advice for all times.

Think Further

Paul definitely needed a smartphone with GPS. Our reading today tells us that after leaving Miletus, he journeyed down the coast of modern Turkey, crossed the Mediterranean Sea and landed in the city of Tyre. His objective was to reach Jerusalem. But this travelogue is interesting not just to map geeks; it’s useful for anyone curious to know God’s will today.

Paul could have gone to other cities in the region, places where he could have planted more churches and accomplished better ministry outcomes, so why did he go to Jerusalem, ground zero of his opposition? Luke tells us it was a result of two things. First, Paul made a decision to go there (19:21). It’s vitally important that we take time to wait on the Lord when facing an important decision, but holding out for the handwriting on the wall (Dan. 5:5,6) can sometimes immobilize us. As we see in this passage, God can use our decisions to move us toward his purposes. Paul would have agreed that God steers a moving ship.

The second and more significant factor driving Paul to Jerusalem was the clear leading of the Holy Spirit (20:22). That’s what we should desire most when facing a decision today. But even when we do sense the Spirit’s leading we still need prayerful discernment. On the surface it may seem that God was giving mixed signals (10,11), but a careful examination of what happened shows that both Paul and Agabus got it right. God was leading Paul to Jerusalem, and he was warning him that it would be difficult. The point is, neither Paul nor Agabus knew God’s full plan, and neither will we. Our responsibility is to faithfully seek God’s direction for the next step while trusting the final outcome to him (Rom. 8:28).

Apply

In what area of your life are you most seeking God’s guidance? What next step do you sense the Holy Spirit leading you to take?

Closing prayer

Father, as I move forward with my life, keep me from being paralyzed by the choices before me. I want to stay connected and keep in step with the Spirit.

Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.

© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.

Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.

View all readings

Get ENCOUNTER:

in your email:

in Print:

Become a Member | Visit our store