Daily Devotions

[Predestined]

What To Pray For​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: COLOSSIANS 1:9-14

...so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work...
Col. 1:10

As Paul continues this prayer for the Colossians, he mentions activities that believers can deliberately choose to do. This is very instructive not only for how to pray for others, but also for how to live our own lives. First, Paul prays that you may live a life worthy of the Lord. When you understand what God has made you to be, that you are his child, cherished by him, your guilt and sin taken care of, and that God is your loving Father who protects you, guides and guards you, and when you see him in all his majesty and beauty then you will become concerned about whether your behavior reflects his beauty, and what others will think of your God when they are watching you. That is a life worthy of the Lord. In others of his letters the apostle urges Christians to walk worthy of their calling. We are to be concerned about our impact upon others, how our lives are impacting theirs, and what our actions make them think about our God.

The second activity that Paul prays for is that they might seek to please him in every way. The chief aim of every believer ought to be that he is pleasing to God; that he seeks to live in a way that delights God. What quality of life is pleasing to God? The Scripture probably puts it most effectively in a negative way. In the book of Hebrews we are told, Without faith it is impossible to please God! Faith is what pleases him. Every time Jesus approved or commended people it was because of their faith. You have great faith, he said to the woman who pled with him to heal her flow of blood. Your faith is great, he said to a centurion who asked him to heal his servant. Whenever our Lord commends people for anything it is because they believe him and act on what he says. They don't conform to the customs of people around. Rather, they swim against the stream of life and stand firmly upon what he says, trusting him. That is what pleases God.

Here is the third activity Paul prays for: bearing fruit in every good work. The fruit, always and everywhere in Scripture, is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, and peace, in our relationships and actions regarding others; concern, compassion, encouragement, and help in a time of stress, bringing a word of peace into a troubled, hostile atmosphere. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. That is what Paul is talking about: bearing fruit in every good work.

Father, today as I walk with you help me to live a life worthy of you, pleasing you in every way and bearing fruit in every good work.

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Life Application​

What are three instructive ways to pray for our own lives and others'? Are we aware of the significance of these prayers in terms of their life-changing effects?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

The Strategy of the Spirit​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 13:1-13

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers... While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
Acts 13:1-2

The turning point in the book of Acts began with a group of Christians in the church in Antioch who are exercising the spiritual gifts that were given to them. Listed here are certain prophets and teachers; men who had the gift of prophecy, and others who had the gift of teaching. While these men were performing their gifts, busy doing what God had equipped them to do in the church, the Spirit of God spoke to them.

There are many people who are looking to God to lead them in some dramatic way. They think they must go away and hole up in a cave somewhere to commune with nature in order for God to speak. Once they get away on a mountain somewhere then he will speak in some dramatic fashion and send them back with a great sense of call. Perhaps some here have been waiting thirty or forty years for that to happen, and it has not happened yet. It's probably not going to happen at all because God does not call us that way very often. Sometimes he does, but usually his call comes when one is busy exercising his gift where he is. These men were busy employing their gifts, and, in the midst of their activity, the call of the Spirit came.

I do not know how he spoke. It may have been through a prophetic utterance of one of these prophets as they were gathered worshipping and ministering. Or it may well have been that he spoke as he speaks to many today in what we have learned to call insistent unanimity, i.e., a deep conviction shared by everyone in the group that the Spirit of God desires a certain thing. This is often the way God works. He spoke to men who were already at work doing what they knew. You can steer a ship or a car if it is moving, but it is very difficult to steer it when it is sitting still. God loves to see people at work in what they know to do, and then he will give them further direction.

Notice also two elements of the Spirit's sovereign choice: He chose the men, and He chose the work. He said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. He did not tell the church what that work was although he had told Barnabas and Saul what it would be. We do not find out what it is until we read on and see what they did. But the Spirit had spoken to these men, and had laid on them a deep concern to reach out to the world around; then he said to the church, Now set them aside for this purpose. That is the way the call of God came in this initial thrusting out toward the uttermost parts of the earth.

Dear Father, make me an obedient follower of the strategy of the Spirit. Teach me to use my gifts in serving you and to trust that you will lead me.

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Life Application​

Is the strategy of the Spirit the operating principle for how we observe and obey his calling? Do we serve with the expectancy that God will make clear his choosing of persons and their gifts and calling?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

The Radical Word of Justification​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 13:32-39

Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.
Acts 13:38-39

Paul makes a shattering statement in this message in Pisidian Antioch. Here were people who thought the Ten Commandments were the greatest word that God had ever given to men. They were trying their best to live up to them. They thought that the way to God was to obey the Ten Commandments — to do good. But now Paul comes to declare to them that they will never find acceptance by God in that way.

Rather, Paul tells them, God has found a way to accept us even though we cannot be good enough in ourselves, and that way is through Jesus Christ. This shook these people. They had never heard anything like this before! This is the first occasion where we have record of Paul's using that great word which is so frequent in the book of Romans, justification by faith.

What does it mean to be justified? Most people think it means to have your sins forgiven. It does mean that, but it means more than that. Justification means to have your sins forgiven in such a way that God's honor and integrity are preserved by it. I served in the Navy for two years and then was honorably discharged. When I was discharged it meant that I was separated from the Navy. They were through with me, and I was through with them. But what I liked about it was the word honorable. It was an honorable discharge. I could freely show my discharge papers to anyone. There was no blot on my discharge. But I knew certain men in the Navy who were dishonorably discharged. They were just as separate from the Navy as was I. The Navy was just as through with them as it was with me. But, there was a blot on their discharge, a stain on it. They did not like to show their discharge papers to anyone.

So what Paul is really saying here is that — if you merely had your sins forgiven, if God forgave in the way that most people think he does: i.e., you just come to him, and he is such a loving God that he says, Oh, forget about it, that's all right, don't worry about it; you're such a great fellow and I love you so much that I'm just going to ignore it — if that were the case, then God's honor would be impugned. His character would be defiled by that kind of forgiveness. He could no longer be regarded as the God of justice and truth; he would be a partaker in my sins and yours. But God has found a way, through Jesus, to lay the guilt of our life and heart upon his own Son. Thus he can preserve his honor and character and integrity while at the same time he is rendered free to show his whole love to us. That is justification. Because of the cross, nobody will ever be able to point to God and say, Oh, you let people off who are guilty! In the cross of Jesus, God poured out all his justice upon him. And in that cross, in the agony and the anguish of it, the world can see a picture of how faithfully God does obey his own laws. And yet, the wonder of it is that, because of it, God's love is freed to be poured out to us.

Father, my heart is stirred as I think of the mercy that you show to me, this marvelous justification by which all that has lain heavily upon my conscience has been washed away in the blood of Jesus Christ. How wonderful this is, Lord; teach me never to forget that I have been justified.

Life Application​

Have we missed the truly radical implications of God's righteous forgiveness? How can we do less than offer our lives in worship and gratitude for the majesty and wonder of God's amazing grace?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

The Power of Obedience​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 14:1-10

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, Stand up on your feet! At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
Acts 14:8-10

Notice the amazing way God began to open up this city. Paul and Barnabas had no idea what they were going to do. They did not form a committee and say, Well, let's see if we can get the Chamber of Commerce report on the city's population distribution. Then we could divide it into squares and evangelize in a systematic way. They had no plans other than to be there and to do what God sent them to do — to preach. So they walked right into the market place and began, trusting the Lord to have prepared certain people, to have people of his choosing ready to open the door to the city.

As they proclaimed the gospel that is what happened. As Paul was preaching — probably for several days in a row — sitting in the marketplace was a man who had been lame from his birth, who had never walked. He was evidently well-known throughout the city, having been there all his life. He heard what Paul said, and believed what Paul declared about the power of Jesus, the mighty Son of God. Paul looked at him and saw in that man's eyes the faith to believe. Suddenly, unquestionably led of the Spirit, he said to him, Stand up on your feet. And the lame man, though he had never walked in his life, made the effort to obey. He had faith enough to try, and the moment he began to obey, the power to obey was given.

That is exactly the way the Christian life works. It does not make any difference whether the problem is physical, emotional, or spiritual; you are going to be held in its bondage until you begin to obey the Word of God about it. When you make the effort to obey, God will set you free. But he will never move until you obey. That is the way faith works. Most people are kept from seeing God at work in their lives because they keep waiting for God to do something, in order for them to believe. No, he has already done all that he is going to do in advance. When you believe what he says, then he will give you the power to be free. This miracle is a mighty parable of the many who have been spiritually lame, unable to take a step toward God, but who have been set free to do so by the gospel. It cracked the city wide open. The whole populace immediately took note of Paul and Barnabas in their midst.

Father, like the apostles, help me to trust in a living God who is changing people's hearts and delivering their minds from the grip and power of the evil one. Help me to rejoice as I, too, see the power of obedience to the Word of God in my own life.

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Life Application​

Which comes first, faith or obedience? What is the significance of the order? Obedience to what? Faith in what--or whom? Does the union of obedience and trust describe our daily walk with God?
Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Preaching to Non-Religious People​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 14:11-28

Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.
Acts 14:15-17

Here is the pattern for preaching to a non-religious people. If you want to know how to reach your neighbors who are not interested in the gospel, and who know nothing of Scripture, who have not been to church and are not interested in it, here is the way. The approach is through nature. When Paul went to the Jews, he started with the Scriptures, the truth of God that they already knew. When he went to the Gentiles, he started with nature, the truth of God which they already knew. He points out three things that ought to have been very plain to them if they had been thinking about their contact with nature.

First, he shows that behind creation there is one living God. He appeals to the fact that, if they had really observed nature, they would realize that it is not controlled by a conglomerate of separate powers, all trying to compete with one another, as envisioned in the pagan pantheon. Paul is saying, You haven't really seen nature. You haven't noticed that nature is as one; it all ties together, blending and harmonizing beautifully. It all exists and functions together because it has been made by one God, who is a living God. It is sustained and held together. It doesn't decay and fall apart but it is constantly being renewed. So there is one living God. Paul declares to them that nature has borne witness to God.

The second point he makes is that the One Living God permits men free choice, and therefore allows evil. One of the problems about God faced by anyone in the world today is, Why is there evil present among men? This is a constant argument of humanists, and others. They say, If your God is such a loving God, who loves man, why does he permit suffering? Why does he allow evil, and injustice, and war? These pagans argued the same way. Paul is answering by saying, What you must know is that God, in generations past, allowed all the nations to walk in their own way. In other words, he gave them free will. To permit free will, he must allow evil.

Third, he says God will not allow it to go too far. He does not allow evil to engulf humanity and wipe us off the face of the earth, as human evil would do in a few months' time if it were unrestrained. God has restrained it. And right in the midst of it, despite all the rejection and all the rebellion and the blasphemy and hatred that is poured out against him by these people whom he loves, God has shown his love by giving rain and fruit and harvest and gladness in the family circle and joy and happiness throughout the various moments of life. That is the God whom Paul preached. What a marvelous declaration of the gospel, that God had given all these things and thus had given witness to these people about himself! So the first onslaught of the enemy falls back upon itself. The city is open to the gospel, and Paul is able to proclaim it in power.

Thank you, Father, for the powerful witness you have given to all people in nature.

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Life Application​

How did the Apostle Paul begin his witness to non-religious, non-believing persons? What are three powerful aspects of God's character revealed in the natural world?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Betraying the Gospel​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 15:1-21

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.
Acts 15:1

In the fifteenth chapter of Acts is the story of a betrayal of the gospel. Here we learn of the clear emergence of what we can only call false Christianity. You will never understand Christianity until you understand that there are always present, in any so-called Christian gathering, manifestations and representatives of both true and false Christianity. Unfortunately, false Christianity is believed by millions who think they have understood the true, and have rejected the false. Therefore their minds are closed to the truth when it comes. Here we see the first emergence of that kind of false Christianity which is unthinkingly accepted by millions of people today.

It all began with the introduction of a very plausible and attractive heresy which came disguised as Christianity. Luke says that certain Jewish brethren, who ostensibly were Christians, came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. They came among the Gentile believers there, who had just come out of raw paganism, who had been idolaters, had been devotees of the licentious and sexually immoral practices of the pagan temples. These Gentiles had been hopeless in their outlook toward the future beyond this life and were sunken in despair and darkness, but then God had saved them. They were now rejoicing in Christ.

But these Jewish brethren came to them and said, as Luke quotes them here, verbatim: Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved. This introduced an issue which split the church at Antioch wide open. They were really saying, In order to become a Christian, you must first become a Jew. Unless you become a Jew, you are a second-class Christian, if a Christian at all. Thus they challenged the gospel of the grace of God. So the first really serious internal strife within the church was over race and ritual — over the question of Jews versus Gentiles, and of circumcision as the sign of acceptance.

This specific issue has long ago passed away as a concern to us; but the principle behind it is very present with us yet today. The enemy has simply changed the players on the program. I remember how shocked I was at the reply a young couple gave to my suggestion that they visit another couple who were newcomers to our church. They looked at me and said, Oh, no, you don't want them. They're not our kind of people. That is a denial of the universality of the church, and of its inclusion of all types and ages and backgrounds and races. Not only people, but also rituals often become bones of contention today: Substitute baptism for circumcision and you bring the issue right up to date. There are many who think you cannot become a Christian unless you are baptized. These external issues are the kind of things that Christians are splitting over today. And that was what was occurring in Antioch.

Forgive me, Father, for those times I have denied the universality of the church. Teach me to accept and embrace those who put their trust in you.

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Life Application​

What was the first serious challenge to the gospel of grace in the early church? How do issues of race and ritual continue to undermine authentic Christianity in the church and in our personal experience?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

A Heart is Opened​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 16:11-24

And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
Acts 16:13-14

After the proclaiming of the Word of God, these disciples expected God to do something! That, by the way, is the missing note among Christians in many places today. Many have given up expecting God to do anything, while they expect to do everything. They expect to organize a program and carry it through. Many churches today are operating in such a way that, if the Holy Spirit were suddenly removed from their program, nobody would notice that anything had happened.

They do not expect God to do anything, but these people did. They just preached the Word and then they expected God to act. They could not tell what he would do — he is always unpredictable. He has several ways by which he gains access to a city, breaks open a community, and begins to spread the gospel and to plant a church. But right here you find one of the ways the Lord frequently uses: He has prepared men and women there, people whose hearts are ready to respond to the gospel. Such a woman was Lydia who was already a worshiper of God. She was a business woman who sold purple goods, who handled the purple dye for cloth which was so valuable in those days. She made a good living. She had her own home and it was large enough to accommodate Paul and his party. Her heart was ready, having been prepared by God, and she was led of God to be there and to hear.

That is one of the first principles of any Christian evangelical activity. When I have spoken to groups of non-Christians, who have looked at me coldly, and whose reactions I couldn't anticipate, it has been a great encouragement to realize that there, unquestionably, are people in the group whom God has prepared. I never doubt it, for I have always found it to be true. There are always one or two whom God has prepared. I try to talk to them and to ignore the hostile reaction of others.

This is what happened here. Lydia was there and she did not get upset by the message. She did not view it as a challenge to her Jewish faith, but immediately recognized that it was the fulfillment of all her Jewish hopes. So she opened her heart and received the Lord. Thus the gospel first entered Europe through a Business and Professional Women's Association meeting.

Lord, I thank you that as I share your word with others, you have gone before me to prepare hearts.

Life Application​

Are we mere activists, trying to do God's work our way under our own impetus? Are we learning to expect God will lead us to persons whose hearts he has prepared to receive and respond to the gospel?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Rejoicing in Suffering​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 16:25-40

When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.
Acts 16:23-26

There is nothing unusual about an earthquake in this region. To this day, earthquakes are common in northern Macedonia. The earthquake was natural; the timing of it was supernatural. God released the earthquake precisely at the right moment and set Paul, Silas, and the other prisoners free. The most dramatic aspect of this story, though, is not the earthquake. It is the singing of Paul and Silas at midnight. Somebody has said that the gospel entered Europe through a sacred concert which was so successful that it brought the house down!

Imagine this, praising God! That is the meaning of the word praying used here. They were not asking for anything; they were praising God and singing hymns. They were not faking either. Their backs were raw and bloody, they were covered with wounds, they had suffered a great injustice, but they exhibited no self-pity or resentment. They were facing agonizing uncertainty. They did not know this delivering earthquake was coming. But at midnight they began praising God and singing hymns. I do not know what they sang. I know what I'd be singing: Rescue the perishing, care for the dying. But I think they were singing, How great thou art. Evidently they sang because they could see things that we, in our poor, blinded condition, seldom see. These men were men of faith. When you see what they saw, your question will no longer be, Why did they sing? but, What else could they do but sing?

They saw, first, that the enemy had panicked. They were conscious that they were in a spiritual battle. But they were delighted when they saw that the enemy had panicked and had resorted to violence. That always means that he has emptied his bag of tricks already. He is down to the bottom of the barrel, there is nothing left. They knew they had won. The second thing they saw was that God, in his resurrection power, was at work in the situation. Resurrection power cannot be stopped. All attempts to oppose it, or to throw an obstacle in its path, are turned around and used as opportunities for advancement. Paul and Silas knew that, and so they were assured that they had won. The third thing they understood was that suffering is absolutely necessary to Christian maturity. You will never grow up, you will never be what God wants you to be, without some form of suffering. When you learn that, you will stop griping and bewailing your estate so. When you run into some suffering you will start rejoicing. They saw that the foe had been defeated, that the work was established, and that they personally had benefited. So they began to rejoice and sing and to thank God for what they saw. And God was so excited by this that he said, I just can't hold still. I'm going to shake the place up a little bit! It blesses the heart of God to see men act this way. And so the prison was opened.

Father, teach me the perspective that Paul and his friends had so that I might rejoice in my sufferings, knowing that you will use it to grow and mature me.

Life Application​

Do our comparatively minimal hardships produce self pity or genuine praise to God? What are three perspectives we need if and when we experience persecution for our faith? Are we spiritually equipped to experience severe persecution and/or life's inevitable hardships?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

More Noble​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 17:1-15

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Acts 17:10-11

Luke carefully draws a sharp contrast here between the rabble in Thessalonica, whom Paul and his friends had encountered earlier in chapter 17, and these Jews in Berea, who were more noble. In what did their nobility consist of? Well, not merely in receiving the word, but also in checking it out with the Scriptures. A noble person is one who has not only an open mind but also a cautious heart. He will not accept a teaching unless he checks it with the Scriptures.

That is what the Scriptures are for. They are your guide so that you can tell what is true and what is false, what is right and what is wrong. And unless a Christian does this, he is lost in a sea of relativism, where he does not know what is right or what is wrong. Your mind becomes confused and blinded and you can be misled and manipulated, as the rabble in Thessalonica manipulated the crowd there — unless you have the nobility to check things out according to the Scriptures. That is what these Jews did, and it was a tremendous help. They checked up on the Apostle Paul.

The value of this story to us, and the reason Luke includes it, is that by it we might learn the necessity of testing any man's word. Do not listen to just one man's tapes, or read only one man's books or messages. It is a very dangerous practice. You will be misled by his errors, and you will not know how to recognize them. Never give yourself to following a single man. Check whatever you read with what is in the Scriptures and with other teachers. Establish what the Word of God says. That is the authority. How delighted Luke is to commend these Bereans for their nobility in doing this very thing!

Thank you for your word, Lord. I ask that you give me a noble heart to study your word and take it and it alone as my guide and my authority.

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Life Application​

What characterized the nobility of the Berean Christians? Is it safe and/or prudent to follow one man's teaching exclusively? What is a certain safeguard against possible confusion from teachings contrary to the Word of God?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Confronting Idolatry​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 17:16-34

The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.
Acts 17:24-25

What is he saying here? First, that God is the Maker and not the one who was made. God was not created by man; he is the One who makes man and everything else that exists in all the universe. He is the originator of all things.

We have not moved very far from ancient idolatry. In the ancient world, they took a piece of gold or silver or wood and carved or formed an idol, thus worshipping the works of men's hands. Today we don't use images, but we still see men worshipping themselves, projected to infinite proportions. Man simply thinks of himself, projects this into infinity, and worships that. That is his god. That is exactly what idolatry did. Paul points out that this is not in line with reality. God is not the projection of man; God is greater than man. God originated man. Everything that exists came from his hands. He is the Maker, and not the made.

Second, God is the giver, and does not have any needs himself. God is not looking for anything from man, as idolatry and paganism taught. People had to bring gifts to the gods, they had to do things for their gods, to propitiate them and sacrifice to them, and bring them all kinds of things. People today are still doing the same. The gods of people today still make demands upon them. Do not think that we are free from idolatry, for if a god is that which is the most important thing in your life, that to which you give your time and effort and energy, that which occupies the primary place of importance to you, the thing you live for, then men have many gods even today. Money is a god for some. Fame is a god to others. Your children can be your gods. You yourself can be your own god; you can worship yourself. I am appalled at the number of people today who worship America and enthrone it as the highest value in life, the thing for which they would give their lives, the only thing worth living for. These are the false gods that people everywhere worship. They make continual demands upon us. They do nothing for us, but we must work for them.

Paul cancels all this out. He says the real God is one who gives, who pours out. He does not need anything from you. He does not live in temples made by man. I am sure he must have pointed to the Parthenon as he said that, for it was regarded as the home of Athena, the goddess for whom the city was named. God does not live in places like that, he said, but he is the one who made you and everything about you, and there is nothing you can give him that he needs. He is, rather, giving himself continually to you.

Father, I know how I have tried to satisfy the emptiness within with some lesser concept than you. I can never do so and am therefore rendered restless and unhappy, never finding what I am looking for. I pray that this great message may have its effect on me as it did on Athens, and that our darkened society will be set free from its bondage to materialism and made to be what you intended us to be.

Life Application​

Are we willing to honestly evaluate and courageously confront, and name, our personal idols? Do we see our idols as affronts to the presence and power of Christ in us and through us? Are we sacrificing our time, our very lives, to those idols -- lives purchased and legitimately owned by Christ who died for us?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Encouragement from the Lord​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 18:1-22

And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.
Acts 18:9-10

What the Lord literally said when he appeared to Paul in this night vision was, Stop being afraid, but keep right on speaking. This reveals that Paul was indeed becoming afraid. It is quite understandable that he would, for a very familiar pattern was developing. He had seen it before many times. He had come to the synagogue and spoken to the Jews. They had rejected his message. He turned to the Gentiles and there was immediate response, a great flood of people coming in. This aroused the anger and hostility of the Jews, and he knew that the next step was trouble.

Is that not beautifully descriptive of the humanity of this man? We sometimes think of Paul as being so bold, so fearless — yet he suffered just as we do from apprehensions, forebodings, and fears. In fact in a letter to these very Corinthians he says so. In First Corinthians 2, he says, When I came to you...I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling... (1 Corinthians 2:1a, 2:3 RSV). He was very much afraid of what would happen to him there.

The reason was that the city was responding to the gospel and the strongholds of evil were being broken down. The life of the city was being disrupted by the awakening which was spreading because of Paul's teaching. I find many churches today that measure their success by what is going on in the congregation, but that is not the mark of success. The church is successful only when things start happening in the world. The Lord Jesus said, You are the salt of the earth ... you are the light of the world... (Matthew 5:13a, 5:14a RSV). It is the world that God is aiming at. Until something starts happening in the community, the church is a failure.

This is so evident in our day. It bothers me greatly to come into a city and find it filled with church buildings on every side, but to find also that the city is locked into patterns of violence and hatred. It tells me that there is something wrong with the churches of that city, for God always aims at the world. All the evils we have in our modern day were present in Corinth. But now this revolutionary message of the gospel was striking right at the very core of the life of the city, breaking down the patterns of evil that had locked men and women into bondage. As Paul saw this beginning to happen he knew that he was in for trouble.

But this is why the Lord appeared to him. How gracious and reassuring are his words: Paul, don't let your fears grip you! Stop being afraid and don't keep silent, but keep right on preaching, because I am going to protect you. No one is going to hurt you, for I have a lot of work for you to do yet in this city. Some of the Lord's most encouraging words are, I have yet many people in this city. They had not yet become Christians — but the Lord knew they were there. There is nothing more encouraging to me in going into a strange situation than the realization that God has brought me there because there are people who he already knows about and who will respond to what I have to say. So it was with the apostle. He was greatly strengthened, and for a year and a half he was able to preach the truth until there was a great stirring in this city.

Father, thank you for this account which encourages me, for I know that you are at work today just as you were then. Lord, help me to stay committed to the task given to me by the Lord when he gave me spiritual gifts and the power of his resurrection.

​

Life Application​

Paul's experience tells us that fear is 'common to man.' Paul was God's man faithfully fulfilling God's calling when God promised His protective care. Are we boldly following God's calling to reach out to unbelievers with God's message of hope and redemption, confident in His promises to be with us always?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Halfway Christians​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 18:23-19:7

Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?
Acts 19:1b-2a

When Paul came to Ephesus he found men and women who had been told about Jesus, at least to the extent of the baptism of John. He obviously thought they were Christians when he first met them. But, as he watched them, he observed that something was missing, and I am sure there is puzzlement in his voice when finally he says to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? This question indicates that the normal Christian pattern is that the Spirit is given immediately upon belief in Jesus Christ. There is no suggestion here that the Spirit of God is given a long period after belief in Christ.

There are many people who believe in Jesus and yet who today do not evidence much sign of the work of the Holy Spirit. There are many churches in our land today where, as I am privileged sometimes to speak in them, I want to say to the people, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? There is no sign of it.

The Holy Spirit is given upon belief in the Lord Jesus, but that does not stop with one act of believing. We are to keep on believing in the Lord Jesus and thus to manifest his power and vitality in our lives. It is that continual act of believing which releases the freshness of the Spirit in our lives. Paul says to the Colossians, As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him... (Colossians 2:6 RSV). As you received him by an act of believing, keep on believing, walk in him, live in him, so that you might demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit.
So what is wrong if there is no evidence of the working of the Spirit? None of the joy, none of the grace, none of the power? It is because we are not believing in him. We believed in him once, but that believing has ceased. There is now no sense of expectancy, no fresh anticipation of his working in our lives today.

Are there signs of the Spirit of God in your life? Are his presence, his power, his working, the freshness, the vitality, the enthusiasm, the excitement of the Spirit visible in your Christian life? If not, you have ceased believing in Jesus. There must be this expectation of his working, for he makes himself available to us continually, moment by moment, to fulfill every demand life makes upon us, as we expect him to do so. That note of expectancy is the evidence, or the sign, of faith which marks the difference between the sterility, the deadness, and the dullness of religiosity without the Spirit, and the fullness, the freshness, and the vigor and power of a Spirit-filled life. So this question, addressed to these halfway Christians of long ago Ephesus, still has meaning for us today, as we understand the need for a continual act of faith in the Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, how frequently I fail to understand the truth of your promise that you have come to live within me. Grant to me anew, Lord, the faith to lay hold of this promise and to make visible in my life.

​

Life Application​

Have we settled for being 'halfway Christians', absent evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit? What is the key to releasing the freshness and vitality of his power in and through us? Is our daily walk characterized by believing in God's Word and in his indwelling presence?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries

 

[Predestined]

Off Witchcraft!​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 19:8-20

Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.
Acts 19:18-20

Luke mentions two movements here. It started with the believers who began to clean up their own lives, who came and divulged their hidden practices, confessing what they were doing in private. Obviously these were relatively new Christians and perhaps they had never thought that anything was wrong with these practices. But as they sat under the teaching of the apostle and saw the kingdom of God and how God longs to set people free, they began to see that what they had been doing — the astrology, the reliance on horoscopes, the belief in the influence of the stars, and all their other superstitious practices — had held them in bondage. These were the reasons why they remained weak and fearful, upset and distressed within themselves. So they began to confess all this and therefore to be free from their bondage. And that, in turn, precipitated another movement. The unbelievers around them in the city began to take a second look at their own practices. Many of them who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them when they became Christians under the influence and power of the gospel, and thus they were set free from their own deadly delusion.

This illustrates how light breaks forth through the church. It is the church that is the light of the world. When the church begins to straighten out and clean up its life, and act and live as God has called people to do, then the world will begin to see itself as it is, and see what is wrong, and start straightening up and being freed from the practices that are darkening and blinding it. This is what happened here. They surrendered all their occult literature — and that was a costly thing to do. As they totaled up the value of these books and the various paraphernalia that was brought to be burned, it came to fifty-thousand pieces of silver. That is about ten thousand dollars, which was a tremendous sum in those days. It meant that these people were forsaking their livelihood. They were changing the total pattern of their lives, as they saw that they could no longer practice the occult and live as Christians too. It revealed how willing they were to be free from this terrible practice.

Here in Ephesus, Paul and the other Christians, by the power of the truth, broke through this deception. They assaulted this stronghold of evil. They cracked it wide open, so that Luke says, The word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailed. That is how a church ought to operate — in the power of the Spirit and by the authority of the Word. There are strongholds like this all around us today, bastions of darkness: drugs, witchcraft, homosexuality. How desperately this situation needs the assault of truth and of light. God longs to deliver people from these strongholds, and he has given the church this power.

Father, I see powers of darkness holding people enthralled, locking them into misery and heartache, superstition and fear, hostility and emptiness. Lord, help me to understand that this is a very strategic time to live and to give myself to this exciting, glorious encounter against these powers of darkness.

​

Life Application​

Are we faithfully and transparently confronting any and all evil practices in our own lives? Are we committed to being set free, and to sharing that freedom with others, regardless of the cost in worldly goods or prestige?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Christianity is Dangerous​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 19:21-20:1

After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia.
Acts 20:1

Paul is eager to explain to the Christians this whole uproarious riot that had just taken place in Ephesus. There is something about it he does not want them to miss, so he calls them together and exhorts them before he leaves. Luke does not tell us what that exhortation consisted of, but I believe that Paul does. There is a passage in his second letter to the Corinthians which refers to this very occasion. In 2 Corinthians 1:8 Paul says, For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself (2 Cor. 1:8 RSV).

Put yourself back with the apostle into the midst of this tremendous uproar. It had appeared for a while that the gospel had so triumphed in Ephesus that Paul could think of leaving and going on to other places. Then this riot suddenly occurred, seeming to threaten the entire cause of Christ, and putting the Christians in great danger. Paul is crushed and distressed. His life is in danger. This crowd is so wild, so uncontrollable that for a few hours it looks as though they might just sweep through the city and wipe out every Christian in Ephesus. Paul says, ...we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Why, we felt that we had received the sentence of death... (2 Cor. 1:8b-9a RSV) He could not see any way out. It looked as if he had reached the end of the road. But God had a purpose: ...but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Cor. 1:9b RSV)

That is the very heart of the Christian message, as Paul will go on to explain in this letter. Our sufficiency is not of ourselves, he says (2 Cor. 3:5). His explanation to these young converts in Ephesus was unquestionably along this line. He was saying to them, God has sent this event, has allowed it to happen to teach us that he is able to handle things when they get far beyond any human control. When our circumstances get way out of order, far beyond our own resources, God is able. He has taught us this so that we will not rely on ourselves but upon him who raises the dead, who works in us to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think, according to the power at work within us.

What an awareness this apostle had of the fantastic strength of the body of Christ working together, praying together, supporting one another, upholding each other in prayer and thus calling into action the mighty power of the God of resurrection, who can work through the most unexpected instruments to quiet a situation, to hold a crowd in restraint, to stop the surging emotionalism of people whose reasoning has been short-circuited, to hold them within limits and bounds, and to bring the whole affair to nothing! This is the might of our God.

This is what we can learn from this situation, as we too come into times of danger and pressure and trouble. The difficulties which strike suddenly in our lives, the pressures through which we must go, the sudden catastrophes that come roaring in out of the blue — these are sent so that we might rely not on ourselves but on God.

Thank you, Father, for those trials and difficulties you bring into my life which teach me to depend not on myself but on you.

​

Life Application​

'Safety first' is not the Christian logo! Do we need to be disabused of the notion that authentic Christian living means immunity from hardship, persecution and suffering? Are we taking up the whole armor of God, trusting Him to do battle through us -- or are we resisting the very adventure to which we are called?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Fallen Asleep​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 20:2-12

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.
Acts 20:7-10

There are several very interesting aspects of this story. This is the first mention we have of the worship of the believers on the first day of the week, i.e., Sunday. This early in the Christian era they had shifted from Saturday to gathering on the first day of the week, the day of our Lord's resurrection. They evidently had met here for a communion service, and the apostle seized the occasion to teach them from the Scriptures. In his last evening there, before they gathered at the Lord's table, he took time to teach them further from the Scriptures. He went on at considerable length, prolonging his speech until midnight.

This has always been an encouraging passage to any pastor. It reveals that even the Apostle Paul had people go to sleep on him. Someone has said that the art of preaching is speaking in other people's sleep. This was certainly the case here. At any rate, Eutychus fought a losing battle against falling asleep. Luke, with his physician's eye, is easy on him. He tells us that there were many lamps in the upper chamber and each, of course, was burning up the oxygen. So, with the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere, and the late hour, and, perhaps, a long week's work behind him, and given Paul's long message, this young man was unable to hold out. He was seated in the window and fell into a deep sleep as Paul droned on, and so he fell from the third floor and was taken up dead.

Some question whether he actually died. But the issue is settled by a physician's testimony. It is Dr. Luke who says that they took him up dead. So when Paul, going down and falling over him and embracing him, said, Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him, he did not mean he was still alive. He meant that his life had returned to him. Thus he was really used of God in the great miracle of raising this young lad from the dead.

Peter, of course, was involved in a similar miracle in the case of Dorcas. It was all the more remarkable in that she had been dead for several hours by the time he prayed for her. The ministries of these mighty apostles of God were confirmed by these unusual miracles, including this one of raising a young man from the dead.

Father, as I face life with its uncertainties, dangers and possibilities, I pray that I may do so with a sense of alertness to you and to my need for others within the body of Christ. Strengthen and surprise me with moments of joy and gladness which I could not have anticipated but which it is your delight to give.

Life Application​

Perhaps this incident will facilitate our awareness of many who have 'fallen asleep' in their walk with Christ. Are we available to be used of Him as He pursues them with His resurrection power -- through us?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries

 

[Predestined]

The Main Thing​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 20:13-38

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Acts 20:28

The primary responsibility of an elder or pastor is to teach the Scriptures, to feed the flock. If he is not doing that, he is failing in his job, miserably. It is the truth that changes people. If the Scriptures are not being taught then people are not being changed. They are struggling in their own futile ways and nothing is being accomplished. So the primary job of elders and pastors is to set the whole counsel of God before the people.

They are to begin with themselves, says the apostle, i.e., they are to obey the truth which they themselves learn. This is where their authority comes from. It is only as they are obedient to the truth which they teach that they have any right to say anything to anyone else. Even the Lord Jesus operated on that basis. He said to his disciples on one occasion, If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me... (John 10:37). That is, if what I am doing is not in exact accord with what I am saying, then don't believe me!

Would you dare say that to your children? Or to your Sunday school class? Or to others who observe you as a Christian? If what I am doing is not in line with what I teach, then don't believe me. I have no authority over you; I have no power over you. But if your actions are in accord with your teaching then power is inherent in that obedience.

So these pastors and elders are to begin with themselves, and to teach the Word. Their responsibility is to the Holy Spirit, not to the denomination, nor to the congregation. It is the Spirit who has set them in that office and has equipped them with gifts. He who reads the heart is judging their lives, so it does not make any difference what anybody else thinks. They are responsible to follow the Holy Spirit in what he has given them to do.

Notice how he underscores the fact that theirs is a very precious ministry. It is to feed the church of the Lord. Nothing is more precious to God in all the world than the people of Christ, the body of Christ. The most valuable thing on earth, in God's sight, is his church. He gave himself for it, he loves it earnestly, he purchased it with his own blood. Therefore it has highest priority in his schedule and emphasis. What concerns the church is the most important thing in the world today. I wish we could catch that picture as the apostle understood it.

Father, how grateful I am for your Word. How graciously it teaches me, especially through the other members of the body. Please protect and encourage all those you have called to teach your word.

​

Life Application​

The emphasis on teaching and obeying God's Word is critical to both private and public Christian witness. Are we instead trying to impress people with our credentials and skills? Do we need to reassess what is 'the main thing' in both our walk and our talk?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Paul's Mistake​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 21:1-16

As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, This is what the Holy Spirit says: In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Acts 21:9-11

This is a rather painful scene. At Caesarea they came into the home of Philip the evangelist. There Agabus, a prophet of the Lord, in a dramatic, visual way, took Paul's sash from around his waist and bound his own feet and hands, and said, This is what the Holy Spirit is saying to you, Paul. If you go on to Jerusalem, this is what will happen to you. You'll be delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. They will bind you, and you'll be a prisoner.

This was the last effort made by the Holy Spirit to awaken the apostle to what he was doing. Agabus was joined in this by the whole body of believers. The whole family present urged him not to go, Luke included. We read in verse 12, When we had heard this, we and the local residents begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. So even his close associates recognized the voice of the Spirit, to which the apostle seemed strangely deaf. He refused to listen.

And in Paul's reply to them we can detect that, without quite realizing what has happened, he has succumbed to what today we call a martyr complex. Paul said in verse 13, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. These words are brave and sincere and earnest. He meant every word of them. We can find no fault with the bravery and courage expressed in those words. But it was not necessary for him to go, and the Spirit had told him not to go.

Here we see what can happen to a man of God when he is misled by an urgent hunger to accomplish a goal which God has not given him to do. The flesh had deceived Paul and evidently he saw himself as doing what the Lord did in his final journey up to Jerusalem. The Gospel accounts say that Jesus steadfastly set his face to go there, determined to go against all the pleading and the warnings of his own disciples. Paul must have seen himself in that role. But Jesus had the Spirit's witness within that this was the will of the Father for him, while Paul had exactly the opposite. The Spirit had made crystal clear that he was not to go to Jerusalem.

When Paul refused to be persuaded his friends said, Well, may the will of the Lord be done. That is what you say when you do not know what else to say. That is what you pray when you do not know how else to act. They are simply saying, Lord, it is up to you. We can't stop this man. He has a strong will and a mighty determination, and he's deluded into thinking that this is what you want. Therefore, you will have to handle it. May the will of the Lord be done.

Father, thank you for recording so faithfully even this failure by the apostle. It is so helpful in letting me see how I must rely not upon the arm of the flesh but upon the arm of the Spirit. Teach me to walk in obedience, Lord, and not to venture out upon that which would be merely the fulfillment of a great desire on my part.

Life Application​

The guidance of the Holy Spirit is intimate and personal, yet he often uses godly counsel from others to validate God's will. Are we learning to be alert to the inner witness while open to confirmation from our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Freedom in Christ​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 21:17-26

And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.
Acts 21:20-21

Many have misread this and concluded that Paul set aside Moses and the Law, that he did reject circumcision as of no value. That charge was false. Paul never taught a Jew to abandon Moses, or not to circumcise his children. What he strongly taught was that the Gentiles should not be made subject to these Jewish provisions. He would not allow them to come under the Jewish Law and insisted that they did not have to follow any of these Jewish provisions. But he did not set aside the ritual for the Jews.

Rather, he pointed out to them that this was all symbolic, and that it was all pointing toward Christ. The very rituals they were performing and the sacrifices they were offering were all telling them of Jesus. Jesus' coming had fulfilled, and filled out, the picture that the Old Testament sacrifices had drawn. Thus, in the very process of carrying them out, the Jews were simply retelling themselves of the coming of the Lord Jesus.

These observances were very much like the Lord's table is for us today. When we take communion, we are dealing with symbols. There is a sense in which those symbols are telling again the story of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. Doing this does not make us any better, but it reminds us. This was the function of these Jewish rituals. They were reminders of what the Lord Jesus had come to do. All through the book of Acts we see Jewish Christians going into the temple and offering sacrifices, just as the Lord himself had done. There is no suggestion that they should have stopped, or that it was wrong for them to do this. Until God took the sacrifices away they were permitted this means of expression. The sacrifices ended when the temple was finally destroyed in A.D. 70, when the words of Jesus were fulfilled and Roman armies came and laid siege to the city (Matthew 24:6ff). The city was taken and the Jews were carried away captive, exactly as the Lord Jesus said. But that was several years still in the future from this point in history.

Paul's practice was that when he was with the Jews, he became as a Jew; when he was with the Gentiles, he became as a Gentile; and when he was with the weak, he limited himself and became as weak as they so that he might reach them on their level. He was simply declaring again the freedom he had in Christ. He was free — free to live as a Gentile among the Gentiles, free to live as a Jew among the Jews, free from the Law, but free also to keep the Law if there were certain advantages to be gained by so doing.

Thank, you, Father, for the freedom you give me to become all things to all men, so that more might be won for you. Give me wisdom as I seek to practice this with those around me.

Life Application​

Learning the distinguishing principles between Law and grace will free us to discreetly demonstrate them to others. Are we dedicated to learning these Truths so that we may freely and responsibly apply them to our relationships?
Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Struck Down, But Not Destroyed​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 21:27-40

As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, May I say something to you? Do you speak Greek? he replied. Aren't you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness some time ago? Paul answered, I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.
Acts 21:37-39

How remarkable that Paul would ask to speak to this enraged mob which had just been ready to tear him limb from limb! I am sure that if I had been in his shoes I would have been trying to get out of there as fast as possible, quite content to let the mob go. But Paul recognizes this as his opportunity. He has come to Jerusalem determined to speak to his nation. Out of the urgency of his love for them he wants to be the instrument to reach this stubborn crowd. So he seizes the only opportunity he has, hoping the Lord will give him success.

The tribune is very startled when Paul addresses him in Greek, because this rough Roman officer thought he knew who Paul was. He thought he was that Egyptian who, according to Josephus, a year or so earlier had led a band of desperate men out to the Mount of Olives, promising them that he had the power to cause the walls of Jerusalem to fall down at his command. Of course he was unable to deliver on his promise, and the Romans had made short work of the rebels, killing most of them, but the Egyptian leader had escaped.

But when this tribune heard the cultured accents of Greece he knew that Paul was no Assassin. (The rebels were called that because they had concealed daggers in their cloaks, and as they mingled among the people they would strike without warning, killing people at random in cold blood. They were utter terrorists, trying to strike terror into the Jewish populace and thus to overthrow the Roman government.) And so, impressed by something about the apostle, the tribune lets him speak to this crowd. Amazingly, when Paul indicates with his hand that he wants to speak, a great hush falls.

As we review this account I cannot help but think of the phrase Paul uses in his second letter to the Corinthians: struck down, but not destroyed... (2 Corinthians 4:9b RSV). God will sometimes let us encounter great difficulty, but he never abandons us. He never leaves us all alone. He always gives us the power and courage we need to face our opposition. He finds a way to work it all out and uses it for his glory. God never abandons his people!

Thank you, Father, for this wonderful example of how you give courage and boldness to one who was in great trouble. Grant to me the same boldness!

Life Application​

When we feel 'struck down' by circumstances resulting from our attempts to serve others with the Gospel, what will save us from feeling 'destroyed'? Are we learning to count on God's faithful presence with us, in us, and on behalf of his work through us?
Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

To Know His Will​

READ THE SCRIPTURE: ACTS 22:1-29

A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, Brother Saul, receive your sight! And at that very moment I was able to see him. Then he said: The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.
Acts 22:12-16

Paul recounts his own conversion experience to this enraged mob which had just been ready to tear him limb from limb! I am sure that if I had been in his shoes I would have been trying to get out of there as fast as possible. But Paul recognizes this as his opportunity and he wants to be the instrument to reach this stubborn crowd. So he seizes the only opportunity he has, hoping the Lord will give him success, and he tells of his own conversion and specifically the role which Ananias played.

The details of this event are etched into the memory of the apostle. Though it occurred thirty years before, he has never forgotten a single detail. This was the moment he was chosen to be an apostle, and Ananias conveyed the commission to him. It had three parts, three aspects of ministry.

First, he was chosen to know the will of God. Now, that was not where God wanted him to go, or what God wanted him to do. What Paul had to learn was that the will of God is a relationship to his Son. When Paul understood that, he had all the power he needed to do anything God asked him to do. So many young Christians struggle at this point. They think that the will of God is some kind of itinerary they must discover, that if they can just find where God wants them to go, and what he wants them to do next, then they can do the will of God. No. The Scriptures make clear that the will of God is a relationship. It is your attitude of expectancy that Jesus Christ, living in you, will work through you. When you expect him to do that, you are in the will of God. Everything you do is in the will of God. Do anything you like, then, because it will be in God's will, unless the Holy Spirit within you indicates otherwise, according to his Word. That is what Paul learned — the power by which a Christian lives his life.

Next, Paul looks back and says, This is what made me an apostle. I have seen Jesus Christ many times. He has appeared to me, and talked to me. He told me, directly and personally, the things that the other apostles learned when they were with him as disciples. That is how I know them. Motivated by the love of Jesus Christ and an awareness of the majesty of his Person, Paul pushed on ceaselessly, out into the far regions of earth, performing his apostolic ministry.

Finally, Paul heard a voice from the Lord's mouth, what his message was to be — to declare what Jesus Christ had said to him. It was the same message Jesus had given to the twelve, in the days of his flesh. That is how they knew that Paul was a true apostle — because he knew what they knew. That constitutes the same message that God has for all of us today — the words of his mouth, which Jesus had given to the Apostle Paul.

Father, thank you that you have commissioned me as well to bear witness to your great work in my life. Help me to be faithful to that call.

Life Application​

What are three vital aspects of the Apostle Paul's calling which apply to all who seek to know and follow God's will? Do we attempt to define or limit his will to a specific place, a particular activity?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.