Permission to Speak

Today’s reading is Acts 21.

I am completely shocked. Put yourself in the shoes of the Roman tribune in Jerusalem. A mob is attacking a man. Your first thought is he must be one of those assassins who have been making so much trouble during feast days around Jerusalem. You’ve decided your going to arrest him and get to the bottom of this. Folks are screaming and hollering. Your soldiers are buffeted by the crowds. And then the man says, “May I say something?” He clearly wants to address the crowd. What are you likely to say? Maybe you are different from me, but I know me. I would say, “No! Get inside!” However, that isn’t what happened at all. The Roman tribune gave Paul permission to speak. He gave him permission to speak not only to the tribune himself, not only to the soldiers surrounding him, but to the entire mob. WOW! I obviously don’t know what it was about the tribune or his background and experience that led him to grant this permission. I do know this. When God is on your side, amazing things happen and amazing opportunities are given. Paul didn’t simply look for opportunities; he made opportunities. And therefore, God granted him opportunities. That is the kind of God we serve. May we make, look for, and seize the opportunities He gives us to speak His gospel message. Then let us give Him the glory. Praise the Lord!

Next week’s reading is Acts 22.

A Word for Our Kids

Hey kids, please, be astounded by what is happening in this scene of Paul’s arrest. You know he wants to share the gospel with the entire crowd of Jewish non-Christians around him in the temple. But what’s a guy to do? He could start just talking or even shouting the gospel. But in the hustle and bustle of temple work and worship, who is going to pay attention and listen? However, let some men accuse him of bringing a Gentile into the temple, get the crowd worked up so that all their attention is on Paul, then bring in a Roman tribune so that the crowd gets calmed down, and now you have a ready made, captive, listening audience. I understand, who would want to get arrested? Not me. But God uses this situation to provide Paul the opportunity he was most definitely looking for. He provides the opportunity to preach the gospel to the crowd. No doubt, in this moment, the crowd rejects. But we have no idea how the individuals responded down the road. And even if they all rejected for the rest of their lives, the Word of God still did not return to God void, but accomplished what it was sent to do. Sometimes, the Word is proclaimed merely to leave people without excuse. Now all of these have heard the gospel. And what a shocking way God brought it about. Be amazed at our God. He does shocking things.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to listen to the podcast episode that goes into more depth on these principles.