the Third Week after Easter
Click to donate today!
Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 4 of 5
Acts 26:19-32
Called by Jesus Christ to a special ministry among the Gentiles, Paul was not disobedient (v. 19). May we not be disobedient concerning the smaller service which the Lord has entrusted to us.
For Festus, a man without spiritual needs, Paul’s speech is pure madness (v. 24). Indeed "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Then the apostle addresses the king directly (Psalms 119:46), with respect but also with the authority which the Word gives him. The king hides his embarrassment by evading the question (v. 28). Alas! almost to be convinced; to become almost a Christian, that is still to be completely lost.
Who was in the more enviable position: the king or the poor captive? Conscious of his high position before God, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, does not think of the crown of the man who is before him but of his soul! Do not let us be put off by the appearance of men; let us think of their eternal destiny.
The apostle has been summoned in succession before the Sanhedrin, Felix, Festus and now Agrippa. He still has to appear before Caesar who, at that moment, was none other than the cruel Nero.
