Acts Chapter 23 - April 15, 2008

23:1 - Ahhh...to be able to say this would be beautiful. Unfortunately I cannot. But I can choose to live each day from this into the future in all good conscience before God. It's a great motto to live life by...it's my mission not to please people or be loved or make money or gain power, but to live my life before God with all good conscience.

23:5 - Perfect example of knowing who people truly are by their words and actions. Paul calls the high priest a hypocrite and the other Jews around ask him, "How dare you speak against the High Priest?" Paul basically says, "Oh, since he was a lying, hypocrite that was speaking evil against Jesus Christ the Son of God and the Lord and King of the Jews...I had no idea he was the High Priest. I didn't think High Priests were supposed to do stuff like that." Ouch. Our words and actions flow from the overflow of our hearts, and I hope that we are so focused on being filled with Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, that living the Way becomes more and more natural for us as the years roll on.

23:12 - This reminds me of a vow that King Saul made (I Samuel 14:24ff)...a vow of stupidity, pride and anger. He tried to take his destiny in his own hands as opposed to trusting in God and he nearly killed his son and eventually lost the throne because of his arrogance. These men refuse to see the truth behind the words of Paul and the authenticity of the person of Jesus Christ as their Messiah...they choose instead to allow their own anger and fear dominate their lives. They make a stupid, prideful, angry vow - and if they held to it, they died of starvation. Starvation and death is the end result when we choose to turn our backs on God an go our own way. We become starved and emaciated spiritually without the living water we so desperately need. We live a life filled with the stench of death - hopelessness...lost in sin...unable to climb out of the hole we have dug for ourselves. Let's not go there.