Acts 25:13-27 One of the favorite games of non-Christians seems to be passing the buck. What I mean is that in the lives of both Jesus and Paul, no one seemed to want to take responsibility for dealing with them. “Who do men say that I am?” Jesus asked. Peter then recited a number of the “good” but not true answers. Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Those answers sound so... Read more
Acts 25:1-12 “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome” (Acts 23:11). These words of Jesus might have sounded to St. Paul like the following: “Listen, Paul, I know that you’ve had a pretty tough go of it so far, I mean with the stonings and imprisonments and floggings and death threats and what not. But I’ve got good news for you – I won’t let... Read more
Acts 24:10-27 See? I told you. What you see in this world is often not what you get. We live in a world that has been put wrong side up. You know those boxes that say, “This Side Up” and “Fragile”? Well, humanity came in just such a box, and the ones God entrusted our lives to (Adam and Eve) dropped the box from a very great height. And so we come to the strange, mixed up, upsee dee dee... Read more
Acts 23:25-24:9 Have you ever been falsely accused? Have you ever been persecuted? I’ve lost track of how many times St. Paul was falsely accused or persecuted, but it’s a bunch – a big bunch! Jesus, his Master, predicted that such persecution would come, and Paul himself had been told that he would be put in chains for the gospel. The amazing thing is that Paul is like the Energizer Bunny. He keeps on going and going, knowing that he... Read more
Acts 23:12-24 “Some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.” Do you find this incredible, that a bunch of 1st century Jews would vow to eat or drink nothing until they had murdered someone? It’s incredible to me, not only because of the great sacrifice involved (and the possibility that if they never killed Paul they would die of hunger or thirst), but... Read more
Acts 22:30-23:11 “Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” This was Paul’s plea when he was given the opportunity to give an account of himself and his life. Paul could have said many things about his life, but he chose to say this. Why would Paul give this simple account of his life? Perhaps Jesus Christ and His commission to Paul was so present before Paul’s face each day that it was as plain as... Read more
Acts 22:16-29 Here’s part II of my testimony in progress: Eventually I made my way into the Reformed Episcopal Church, originally and to human eyes accidentally because I was teaching school at Good Shepherd School in Tyler, Texas. In fact, it was because many of the leaders of Believer’s Fellowship were connected to Good Shepherd Church in Tyler, Texas that I ended up there. One of my greatest influences there was Ray Sutton, now a bishop in the Reformed Episcopal... Read more
Acts 21:37-22:16 In Acts 21 and 22 we are privileged to hear the “testimony” of St. Paul. We hear how he was a Jew, born as a Roman citizen in Tarsus, and how he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught the Law strictly, and was zealous toward God. He continues by telling how he persecuted the Way and bound and delivered into prison both men and women. The climax of Paul’s testimony is, of course, when the... Read more
Acts 21:27-36 Yesterday, we learned of the sweet work of reconciliation of Jesus Christ and the mystery of God’s uniting love made manifest in the union of the Bridegroom Jesus Christ with His beautiful Bride the Church. St. Paul was a faithful steward of this mystery and was willing to give his life to guard and proclaim it. Today we hear again about those who were willing to take Paul’s life to make sure that God’s work of reconciliation didn’t... Read more
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Monday of Trinity 8 – Acts 26:1-23
Acts 26:1-23 Have you ever wondered why St. Paul occupies so much of the New Testament? Well I have! Think about it: he wrote 13 out of the 27 books of the New Testament, and in the book of Acts, which describes the early church, he is the center of attention in 16 of its 28 chapters. No one in the entire New Testament except for Jesus Christ Himself gets anywhere near the airtime that Paul does. Why? Why Paul,... Read more