they will listen

Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.

Acts 28:28

These are the last words recorded from Paul in the book of Acts. They form the conclusion to one last recorded conversation with Jewish leaders in Rome. Paul spent an entire day with them working through all of the Old Testament to show them the gospel of Jesus and the kingdom of God (Acts 28:23-24). In the end there was disagreement and unbelief (Acts 28:25). This led Paul to a final conclusion: the Gentiles will listen to the gospel and turn to Christ.

This is a fitting bookend to the Paul story arc of Acts. At Paul’s conversion Jesus revealed that His plan for him was to “carry my name to the Gentiles” and for him to “suffer for the sake of my name”. And now, in Rome, with Paul’s last Acts message he is doing both… committing to Gentile evangelism in the core of the Gentile world in Rome while also under arrest by Caesar. The story reaches the end that God intended. The gospel has spread just as Jesus had prophesied in the opening of the book of Acts: to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

Seeing Jesus so in control of the growth of His church, the spread of the gospel message, and the worldwide expansion of His kingdom is the main takeaway I have from this current reading of the book of Acts. And this same Jesus is head of His church right now. He is growing His Church, saving His people, and building His kingdom. And we are the people Jesus chooses to use. We need to proclaim the gospel and pray with confidence like Paul that “they will listen”.

praying for day

And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.

Acts 27:29

Long night

storm-tossed

weary in the wind

drenched by the rain

sailors, soldiers, prisoners

dropped anchors

and prayed

Morning light

land sighted

breaking on a reef

tossed by the sea

sailors, soldiers, prisoners

jumped overboard

and swam

They prayed for the day

even though God said

they would all be saved

the storm still terrified

the waves still swept them

the night was still long

the threat was still real

And so in life

God does not calm

the waves or always

still the storm

Instead, he asks us

to believe His promise

ride out the storm

swim in the tossing surf

and trust Him to deliver

And He does.

God hears us pray for the day.

God leads us in the storm.

God crashes us into safety.

God saves us by our turmoil.

undeniable resurrection power

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:8

And with that question Paul makes his defense before Herod Agrippa and Festus, the Judean governor appointed by Rome. His argument for the power of the resurrection is very compelling but not what we might expect. He doesn’t go on and on about the empty tomb. He doesn’t need to produce a shroud. He does not line up eyewitnesses like he does in 1 Corinthians 15. Rather, his preferred argument in his defense is the reality of the resurrection of Jesus and by implication conviction in a future resurrection for His saints that is centered on two-fold implications from Paul’s own personal testimony:

1.  A resurrected Jesus confronted Paul on the Damascus road, saved him, and commissioned him to preach the gospel.

2.  Paul’s own transformation experience from Jewish leader and hater of Jesus to apostle of Jesus and one hated by the Jews for preaching the gospel was a testament to life-giving power.

Paul’s transformed life was already something of an evidential exhibit to God’s resurrecting and transforming work. Paul’s complete turnaround from persecutor of Christianity to unashamed proponent and leader of the Christian movement was proof of this. God’s power was on display in the gospel message and the gospel messenger. The passion for the gospel was there because Paul encountered a real, live Jesus and then believed that His death and resurrection will also transform and resurrect all who believe in Him.

Paul turned the tables. The burden of proof for him was on those who needed to DISPROVE the resurrection. For Paul, this was impossible to do. God’s power was displayed in Christ’s resurrection,. That power is also displayed as the gospel brings new life every place it is preached. And this continues unabated even now. Every changed life is the evidence of the resurrection! How can we not believe when we have a resurrected Savior Who resurrects us to new life in Him and will resurrect us one day to eternal joy with Him?

prayer of the afflicted

For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

Psalm 22:24

Oh Lord,

You are in control of everything that happens to me. You lead this life. You direct all circumstances. You lay the path before me and lead me as I walk in it.

And when the road is hard, I am well aware now that suffering is part of Your good design. My afflictions are never unknown or without good purpose. For countless generations You have led Your people through health and blessing, planting and harvest, hardship and hurt, and struggle and victory. You won’t stop now!

And not all afflictions are the same. Sometimes I suffer as a clear consequence of my own sin so that in Your mercy You might draw me to repentance. And other times because this world is so very broken by Adam’s Fall, there is suffering and difficulty… the thorns and thistles of my existence. Suffering is a part of every life… surviving is part of the task of living… and those perspectives are not fatalistic, but faithful for those who follow You, Lord.

For Christians, You may deem us worthy to carry on the afflictions of Christ. We may suffer for His sake, hated by the world, judged by those under Your judgment, and mocked by those who hate You.

I know this: You hear me in my afflictions. You respond with grace, healing, and mercies to all my sorrows. You never hide Your face from me. I believe this. I see it. I rejoice to be worthy to experience Your good hand in hard seasons.

I have one primary purpose in my life: to worship You, my God! I will sing Your praise and declare Your glory.

I have one primary mission in my life: to tell as many around me as I can about Your faithfulness and saving love. I will make my God and Savior known by Your sustaining love!

Amen

passionate for the gospel

Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”

Acts 23:6

Paul was transformed by the gospel. And that was a problem for the Jews. He had been a fierce opponent of Christianity when he first heard about Jesus. He had been meticulously educated to defend the Jewish Law in the highest school of Judaism in his day (Acts 22:3). He was zealous to keep the Law and agreed to persecute Christians to wipe out what was seen as a heresy (Acts 22:4-5).Until Jesus Himself confronted him on the road to Damascus and in that encounter turned him from passionate resister to passionate proclaimer of the gospel (Acts 22:6-16).

Paul was then dedicated to proclaiming the gospel despite his notorious past of persecution. He became God’s chosen apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21).

And as the events played out in Jerusalem here in Acts 23, the Jews have had quite enough of his gospel-preaching commitment to bring Jesus’ Way to the Gentiles. Paul is still very passionate for the gospel. In fact, he shrewdly appeals to the gospel’s biggest offense to Judaism: The resurrection of Jesus from the dead as the hope of resurrection for all believers. And that appeal blasts his accusers into disarray so divisively that a Roman guard has to whisk Paul away from Jewish religious authority, putting his fate from that moment on in the hands of the very Gentiles Jesus had called him to reach. The gospel in that sense saved Paul again… quite literally.

Lord,

When I read of this kind of courage in Paul with the gospel I am humbled. I pray that a passion for the gospel would indeed rest in my soul. I pray I will live for its advance and rest in gospel hope.

Amen

Grace before my eyes

For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

and I walk in your faithfulness.

Psalm 26:3

Grace before my eyes

I see in the light

of Your salvation

gospel lens correcting me

steadfast love sustaining me

in Your grace I see

what You are making me

Faithfulness before my feet

I walk in the path

of Your salvation

Your Word leading the way

Your Spirit helping me stay

from Your path I will not stray

as You lead me every day

Jesus before my heart

transforming me in the power

of Your sanctification

holiness is what You’ve decreed

and through forgiveness met my need

from lies and wickedness now freed

I will follow where You lead

He does what we cannot.

For your name's sake, O LORD,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Psalm 25:11

God forgives because He is forgiving. God pardons guilt because He is God. He does it all for His name’s sake. God is good and that is why He forgives. He removes guilt. He takes care of sin because we cannot. As the prayer in this verse lets us know unequivocally: We bear great guilt for our sin. We need a great Savior!

Unless we think this is just a singular confession in this psalm, look at how David repeatedly deals with his need for pardon from a great God:

• His youthful sins need to be “remembered not” by a God Who will choose to remember steadfast love and goodness (Psalm 25:7).
• God instructs sinners (Psalm 25:8).
• God leads the humble in righteousness if they will come to Him confessionally (Psalm 25:8-9).

And then, after true confession and the assurance of forgiveness from a great God, David knows confidence in God.

• God instructs him (Psalm 25:12).
• God keeps him safe generationally (Psalm 25:18).
• God offers friendship (AMAZING!) (Psalm 25:14) as evidenced by His Word.
• God is gracious in affliction (Psalm 25:16-18).

So then confession of sin, although a regular need of ours to do, is a blessing. It leads to a knowledge of God, deepening trust in old, and a confidence in the God of our salvation. How much more in the completed work of Christ can we rejoice in a wise, loving, gracious, and forgiving God. And this God is our friend in Christ!