Acts, Chapters 25, 26, 27

Please read these chapters in your Bible.

Did the Christian believers in all those towns where Paul had experienced fellowship and where he spent many hours preaching and teaching, did they know that Paul had been taken captive? Did they know about the gross unfairness happening to him and the bitter, false accusations that were being brought against him? Perhaps, in those days of slower than snail mail it was not widely or well known. You and I do know, because for us that snail mail has travelled far and wide; as we read it we may be inclined asking: ’Lord, why did You allow all this to happen to Paul?’

It is only my guess; a pure human guess that suggests this: Paul himself would never dream of asking that question ‘Why’. It would never occur to him wanting to know ‘Why’. We may be thinking of lost time; of opportunities lost. Of people, wilfully wasting days. But none of that on Paul’s mind. To him there was only One Who organized his days; there was only One Who caused those days to be fruitful and Who chose them to be filled with glory. Not the Jewish priests, not the Roman officials, hatred nor disgust would ever stop the sharing of love and grace. Not ‘why?’, but teaching, preaching, testifying to a living Lord, Who once was crucified, died, gloriously arose from the grave, did fill Paul’s every single day! A bright testimony for his dear Lord and Master.

In this and the next two chapters, we find Paul like that. The mighty rulers of this world, in all their proud pomp and high positions are being confronted by Him Who rules over all and forever. They all have died and returned to dust, but JESUS LIVES AND REIGNS FOREVER!