Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on a certain island. Now God could’ve had them make it safely to Rome; but they may have gotten there before He wanted them to. Also there were some people on the island that needed to hear about God. After 14 days in the storm, the sailors realized they were approaching some land. Some of the sailors tried to escape in the ship’s boat; but Paul told the centurion that unless they remained in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved. I’m not sure why that is true. They finally run aground, and the ship is being broken up by the waves. The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners so that they could not escape; but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention. One way or another all 276 persons made it to shore. The natives of the island received them with kindness and started a fire for them. As Paul was...

  Good morning. So the ship was caught in a nor’easter, and they could not make it go the way they wanted. They gave way to the wind and sailed under the shelter of a small island. My Bible shows a map of where they were. Remember they were only a short distance from the city where they wanted to go. The island was south west of where they wanted to go – because they were hit from the north east with the storm. Of course there was no way to know exactly what path they went after that because they were in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The map just shows a squiggly line until they get to the island where they were grounded.  The storm went on for many days and the and men lost all hope of being saved. So what did Paul say – I told you so. I told you not to go. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, do no...

  Good morning. When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion. Notice that “we“ returns. Luke has not been mentioned during the entire two years that Paul was at Caesarea. I guess it is safe to assume that he was in the area during this time. We will leave out the names of a bunch of places where they passed. They had sailed for a good many days and began to have trouble with the wind. This was a warning of what was about to happen. When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast (Day of Atonement) was already over, Paul began to admonish them to not continue, because he perceived that not only would there be a loss of the cargo but also of their lives. The centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. They did not want to get stuck for the winter in the port where they were located. They actually were only g...

  Good morning. Paul continues his message to King Agrippa. I declared, even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. That’s the same thing that John the Baptist told the Pharisees when they came to be baptized. He tells how the Jews wanted to put him to death, but he obtained help from God. I state nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles. So Paul has given King Agrippa the gospel in a nutshell, tailoring it to both Jews and Gentiles. My Bible says that King Agrippa was allied with the Sadducees. Remember that his relative, the first King Herod, was extremely upset when the Magi said they were seeking the One born king of the Jews. While Paul was talking to King Agrippa, he was also talking to Festus, who was a Gentile. Festu...

  Good morning. Well they had a big to do: The king and a bunch of dignitaries came together to hear Paul. Festus said, I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to send him. I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. He knew that the Jews had no case against Paul; but he didn’t want to let him go free and get the Jews angry at him. Since Paul had resorted to an appeal to Caesar, Festus had to indicate the charge. He was afraid that Caesar would want to know why Festus was wasting his time with such a flimsy reason. Paul starts out by flattering King Agrippa. I consider myself fortunate that I’m about to make my defense before you today; especia...

  Good morning. While everything was being prepared for Paul to go to Rome, King Agrippa and Bernice came to pay their respects to Festus. My Bible says that he was the last of the Herods. Festus tells them about Paul’s case. When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting, they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive. We need to realize that the world does not understand what we believe. They think that we are talking about something completely different. They may not think it’s the same as this, but it is very different from what we truly believe. When I asked Paul whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters, he appealed to be held in custody for the emperor’s decision. I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said, I also would like to hear the man myself. Hi...

  Good morning. The Jews brought many and serious charges against Paul, which they could not prove. Paul said, I have committed no offense either against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar. But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges? Why would he want to go to Jerusalem? He was standing trial right there, and they were unable to prove anything against him. Paul knew that if they had planned to kill him previously, they would probably do the same again as he went to Jerusalem. I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. My Bible says that as a Roman citizen, he could refuse to go to a local provincial court; instead he looked to a higher Roman court. I have done no wrong to the Jews as you very well know. If, then, I am a wrong doer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of these things is true of whic...

  Good morning. Felix was given plenty of opportunity to turn his life over to Christ, but he refused. Why was Paul stuck there for two years? Why didn’t God set him free? God was preparing everything for Paul’s eventual trip to Rome. If he had been set free or had gone earlier, then what was supposed to happen would not have happened. My Bible says that Festus only lived two years longer before he died. Basically he was there only so that he could send Paul to Rome because Felix was not going to. So Festus arrives in Caesarea for his new job. After a few days by the seashore, he goes up to the big city – Jerusalem, not having a clue of the controversy that was about to strike him. The chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were urging him, requesting a concession against  Paul, that he might have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time setting an ambush to kill Paul on the way). It would’ve been easy to give in to their demands...

  Good morning. Paul continues describing what happened in Jerusalem and said, let these men themselves tell what misdeed they found when I stood before the council, other than for this one statement which I shouted out while standing among them, for the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today. But Felix, having a more exact knowledge about the Way put them off, saying, when the commander comes down, I will decide your case. He knew there was no real crime, and that it was simply jealousy that brought all this on; but he couldn’t just let Paul go or the Jews would’ve been tremendously upset. Paul was more or less under house arrest. Paul must have struck a chord in the soul of Felix, talking about the resurrection, because Felix and his wife came to listen to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. There was more than one man named Herod, and she was the daughter of one of them. As Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became...

  Good morning. The Jews were upset that “Paul got away“; so 40 formed a plot to kill Paul, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had done so. They wanted the council to pretend like they wanted to investigate him further, but they were going to attack and kill him while he was on the way. Paul’s nephew learned of the ambush, and came to the barracks to inform him. He asked that his nephew be able to tell the commander about the plot, and he was able to do so. The commander sent Paul with 200 soldiers and 70 horsemen to Caesarea, where the governor, Felix, was staying. They waited for the Jews to come down from Jerusalem for a hearing. The high priest, some elders, and a lawyer (went into a bar - well it sounded like the beginning of a joke) came to bring charges against Paul. The lawyer claimed that Paul stirred up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and was the ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to desecrate the temple; and th...

  Good morning. Now Paul could’ve kept attacking the high priest; but he perceived that one group was Sadducees and the other Pharisees. These two groups were like Republicans and Democrats – they really disagreed with each other and only came together when there was a common enemy, like Jesus. I am a Pharisee, and am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead! This created quite a commotion because the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. The Pharisees said, we find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him? They were about to slug it out when the commander stepped in and took Paul away from them. That night the Lord stood at his side and said, take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also. This seems to indicate that it was God‘s will for Paul to go to Jerusalem. It also confirms Paul’s desire to go to ...

  Good morning. As they were getting ready to scourge Paul, he said to the centurion, is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and condemned? Remember when he was in the Philippian jail that when they sent to release him, Paul realized too late that he had the same defense. It was against the Roman law for a Roman citizen to be subjected to any kind of degrading form of punishment. The next day, the commander ordered the chief priests and the council to assemble so that he could find out why they were accusing Paul. He said to them, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day. The high priest commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth. God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the law, and in violation of the law order me to be struck? But the bystanders said, do you revile God‘s high priest? I was not aware that he was high priest; for it is written, you shall not speak ev...

   Good morning. Paul begins giving his testimony; how he was trained under Gamaliel (which meant he was highly trained in the law); had men and women put into prison because they followed the Way; and was going to Damascus to continue doing so. He tells about getting knocked off his feet and his encounter with Jesus; how Ananias prayed for him to receive his sight and told him to get up and be baptized, and wash away his sins, calling on His name. Paul tells about returning to Jerusalem (probably several years later); praying in the temple; and falling into a trance. Jesus told him to get out of Jerusalem because they would not accept his testimony about Him. Paul disagreed with Jesus telling about all the bad things he had done against His witnesses, thinking that that would make it OK to stay – that no one would harm him. Jesus told him to go; for I will send you far away to the Gentiles. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was one thing to talk about Jesus t...

  Good morning. Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander (in command of 1000 troops) of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. That was a big deal - that a non-Jew would come into the part of the temple that was for Jews only. The commander brought troops with him; and when they saw him and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. They bound Paul with two chains; and the commander began asking who he was and what he had done. Everyone being upset, they shouted out their reasons; and as is normal, there was disagreement concerning what the fuss was all about. The commander ordered him to be brought to the barracks where it would be quieter. Paul said to the commander, may I say something to you? He said, do you know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who stirred up a revolt? Obv...

  Good morning. So what did the elders tell Paul to do? We have four men who are under a vow (this was connected to keeping the law); take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their head; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself walk orderly, keeping the law. Because of what happens later, it makes me wonder if they were telling him what God was saying to do, or else was it man’s remedy for the problem? Too many times we do what in the natural seems the right thing to do; but it is not what God would have us to do. Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them. Now if he had not done all of this with the seven men, would the following have even happened? When the seven days were almost over, the Je...

  Good morning. So Paul said, you’re right! I won’t go to Jerusalem – not! What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. So his interpretation of what the Holy Spirit said through Agabus was not that he should not go to Jerusalem, but that he was going to go through a lot of bad things there. And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, the will of the Lord be done! This kind of reminds you of Jesus in the garden when He asked that the cup be removed; yet not My will but Thine be done. Neither is a reason for us to tack on “if it be Thy will“ to every prayer request. If it’s not His will, He won’t answer it. They started on their journey up to Jerusalem. The next day he went in to James, the Lord’s brother, and all the elders were present. He told them all of the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it they began ...

  Good morning. Paul and crew looked up the disciples and stayed there seven days. They kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. This is the only place I can find that it seems like God was telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem; the other places seem to be peoples’ personal feelings. But then later Jesus speaks to Paul and seems to say he was supposed to go to Jerusalem. My Bible says that the total now is 36 days since Passover. They continued on in the boat and came to Caesarea. They entered the house of Philip the evangelist. He is the one who spoke to the Ethiopian Eunuch and then vanished. The last we saw of him, he was in Caesarea; so apparently he stayed there all these years. He was one of the seven original deacons, and is now known as an evangelist. He had four daughters who were prophetesses. As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He is the same one who had foretold the coming of a famine. He took Paul...

  Good morning. Then Paul says, I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. That is not something that any church would expect to hear. You tend to think that nothing like that could happen at your church; that everything will go along great with or without a particular person. It would be especially grievous for it to occur because of people that are already members of the congregation. Sadly too many times it does happen. People try to take over when a strong leader is no longer there. Therefore be on the alert. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. He knelt down and prayed with them. They began to weep and embrace...

  Good morning. Paul continues: but I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. (we keep hearing from the pulpit testimonies of people in other countries who feel the same way – that their lives are not dear to themselves when it comes to spreading the gospel). I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. We all go about our lives assuming that we will see the people we know once again. We never think that this time will be the last time. Of course if we conducted our lives like this time would be the last time, we would not treat our friends and relatives badly like we do sometimes. I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. It would be easy to leave out something, if we thought that that would bring a disagreement with those to whom we were speaking. ...

  Good morning. Remember that Paul’s destination was Jerusalem. To get there within any reasonable amount of time, he would have to go by boat. Just like buses and trains today make stops that you don’t want to make, boats also made stops that the travelers might not want to make. Paul decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. Pentecost is 50 days after Passover, and my Bible says that he had already spent 16 days of that 50. Instead of going to Ephesus himself, he called for the elders of the church there to come to him. He reminds them of how he preached the gospel there despite the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Je...

  Good morning. After the commotion in Ephesus, Paul left to go to Macedonia (remember the offering he was going to collect there). He finally came to Greece. He spent three months there (my Bible says that he stayed in Corinth, and that he probably wrote the book of Romans at that time), and after a plot was formed against him by the Jews, he decided to return through Macedonia. Possibly when he went through Macedonia, they decided to send an offering; and when he came back through, they gave him the offering to take to Jerusalem. He was accompanied by several men, including Timothy. Those men had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. Notice that Acts returns to the use of “we“, and that they are in the city of Troas, where Paul first met Luke. They had just finished the days of unleavened bread, which includes Passover. On the first day of the week, when the church was gathered together, Paul began talking to them intending to leave the next day; and he prolonged his me...

  Good morning. Paul sent Timothy and one other into Macedonia, while he stayed in Asia for a while. There arose a great disturbance concerning the Way (remember that Jesus said I am the Way, the truth, and the life – no one comes to the Father but through Me). A silversmith who made shrines of Artemis got people upset because Paul was destroying their business saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. That was the real reason he was upset; but he also added that the temple of the great goddess Artemis would be regarded as worthless. My Bible says that the Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world; so people came from far and wide to view it – they purchased silver shrines and images, and that was a lucrative business for the craftsmen. They used the part about Artemis to get the city in an uproar. Paul wanted to go talk to them, but the disciples would not let him. After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, men of Ephesus, what man is there...

  Good morning. God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. And he didn’t even ask them to send in a donation 🙃 . But of course people were wanting to capitalize on his success. Some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. The evil spirit said, I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you? The man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them and chased them out of the house. This became known to all; and fear fell upon them and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Many of those who believed kept coming, confessing, and disclosing their practices. They even burned their magic books. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. Paul purposed in the spir...

  Good morning. So how did the disciples in Ephesus answer Paul? No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. Into what then were you baptized? And they said into John’s baptism. Remember that Apollos was acquainted only with the baptism of John. It is possible that he was responsible for them becoming disciples. Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. This verse is used by some people who say that to baptize someone in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (which is never used in the book of Acts), is not proper; you must be baptized in the name of Jesus. They are known as the “Jesus only“ group. And when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them (notice that it says came on them, not within them - you cannot see when the Holy Spirit comes within someone), and they b...

  Good morning. Paul then goes to those same churches he visited before; but my Bible says he does so in reverse order from the first time. While he is doing that, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John (this will be important later). He began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila (the couple Paul stayed with) heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. He wanted to go to the region around Corinth, and so he left Ephesus, and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace. He powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. While this was happening, Paul, during his journey, came to Ephesus, and ...

  Good morning. But of course with Paul it could not stay peaceful for long. The Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, saying, this man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law. My Bible says that what they were talking about is that the Jews were claiming that Paul was advocating a religion not recognized by Roman law as Judaism was. The proconsul said, if it were a matter of wrong or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters. Being madder than a wet hen, since they could not get at Paul, they took hold of the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat; but the proconsul was not concerned about any of these things. Remember that Jesus told Paul that no man will attack you in order to harm you. Instead of being chased off, Paul ...

  Good morning. Paul leaves Athens and goes to Corinth. He finds a couple there who had come from Italy because the emperor had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul and the husband were both tent makers. Remember that Paul had trained with Gamaliel, who was a very important teacher. His father probably paid a lot of money in order for him to do that. So why would he be a tent maker? My Bible says that it was the Jewish custom to provide manual training for sons, whether rich or poor. He spoke in the synagogue on the Sabbath, but worked during the week. When Silas and Timothy came, he devoted himself to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. As usual, the Jews resisted and blasphemed. From now on I will go to the Gentiles. He stayed with a man whose house was next to the synagogue. How convenient. The leader of the synagogue believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. ...

  Good morning. Notice Paul’s approach as he talks to these philosophers. He does not scold them like some Christians would. He uses the very things that agitated himself – their idols. Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, “to an unknown God“ (they wanted to make sure they did not leave out any god and make him angry). Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. He uses this to segue into a proclamation of the gospel. He even uses a parallel to what one of their poets had written. Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. So he is condemning the idols without condemning the people. He is appealing to their logic. Having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people ...

Good morning. Many of the people of Berea believed; but when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul there, they came also, agitating and stirring up the crowds. They weren’t content keeping their city “safe“ from what they considered to be heresy, they went to a town nearby to also “protect” it. The brethren sent Paul to the sea while Silas and Timothy remained there. We haven’t heard anything about Timothy since he joined Paul and Silas a number of verses ago. Those who were with Paul took him to Athens, where he gave them a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible. While Paul was waiting for them, he was agitated within as he observed all of the idols. He was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. Paul did not let all of the conflict he had endured in the other cities deter him from proclaiming the gospel wherever he was. While Athens was no l...

   Good morning. Paul was explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, saying, this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ. The Jews were looking for, and still are looking for, the arrival of the Messiah. Remember in the movie “fiddler on the roof” that the tailor said, wouldn’t this be a great day for the Messiah to come? Some were persuaded to join Paul and Silas; but the Jews became jealous and took along some wicked men and formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. Attacking the house of Jason (they probably thought that Paul and Silas were staying with him), they were seeking to bring them out to the people. When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some others before the city authorities, shouting, “these men who have upset the world have come here also”. They all act contrary to the decrees of Cesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus. Sounds like the fake news of today, taking a true stat...