Dig Deeper:
THIS SEEMS LIKE A RERUN: This chapter can seem like just a repeat of earlier chapters: Paul is being kicked around the various levels of Roman bureaucracy because nobody really knows how to deal with him. On one hand, Paul is exercising his right as a Roman citizen and is being protected from the unruly mobs that want him dead. On the other hand, Paul is being used as a political pawn which self conscious governors use to try to win the support of the Jewish religious leaders. It doesn't seem like there's a lesson for us in chapter 25... that is until we look at the issues going on in our lives. Most of the time our problems are quite mundane. None of us have been flogged and are chained to the wall in the deepest pit in the prison. None of us are on a sinking ship in a terrible storm. None of us have the entire city clamoring for our immediate death. Compared to the early church, our lives are boring; sort of like chapter 25. But we know that God is at work behind the scenes in chapter 25, setting the stage for Paul to be sent to Rome, where, although in chains, he will proclaim the Gospel in the highest echelons of the empire. As you read boring chapters like Acts 25, rest assured that God is at work in your boring life as well. God may be working behind the scenes setting you up to do amazing things for His Kingdom, or He may be using you in a quiet way that may never even be noticed by anyone else. The point is that God is not only active in the extraordinary miracles we read about in many parts of Acts, He's also very active in the mundane problems related in chapter 25.
Listen to the sermon on Training Yourself To Use Your Spiritual Gifts
Prayer Tips:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Savior is 'a dead man named Jesus who is now alive.' (v20)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask that God's will be done in your life as it is in heaven, even if His will for your life seems dull and boring compared to how He seems to be working in other lives.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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