{"id":2013,"date":"2020-01-14T11:15:18","date_gmt":"2020-01-14T19:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=2013"},"modified":"2020-01-14T11:15:18","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T19:15:18","slug":"devotion-acts-2127-36-esoteric-but-sure-victory-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=2013","title":{"rendered":"Devotion Acts 21:27-36 Esoteric, But Sure Victory Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts 21:27-36\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,<\/i><\/span>\u00a028\u00a0shouting, \u201cFellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.\u201d<\/span>\u00a029\u00a0(They had previously seen Trophimus\u00a0the Ephesian\u00a0in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)\u00a0 30\u00a0The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul,\u00a0they dragged him\u00a0from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut.<\/span>\u00a031\u00a0While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.<\/span>\u00a032\u00a0He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.\u00a0 33\u00a0The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound\u00a0with two\u00a0chains.\u00a0Then he asked who he was and what he had done.<\/span>\u00a034\u00a0Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,\u00a0and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.<\/span>\u00a035\u00a0When Paul reached the steps,\u00a0the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers.<\/span>\u00a036\u00a0The crowd that followed kept shouting, \u201cGet rid of him!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cshouting, \u201cFellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.\u201d<\/i><\/span>\u00a029\u00a0(They had previously seen Trophimus\u00a0the Ephesian\u00a0in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)<\/span><\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Again Paul was falsely accused.\u00a0\u00a0His words were twisted to use against Him.\u00a0\u00a0People who had no right to do so judged his words wrongly.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus had said that it would happen to His followers (Matthew 5:11<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0In our day we also know it to be true.\u00a0\u00a0How often it is said, and believed, that Christians do not like a certain group of people because of sin.\u00a0\u00a0It is a lie.\u00a0\u00a0Because we hold to the truth many equate that to be hate.\u00a0\u00a0For true followers of Christ hate is not what rules in the heart.\u00a0\u00a0It is love that rules in the heart.\u00a0\u00a0Living in peace, as much as we are able, is what flows from the throne of God (Romans 12:18<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0Some lie about us, or ignorantly accuse us, just as they did to Paul.\u00a0\u00a0Though they wrongly accused him Paul still loved them (as we will read in\u00a0V39<\/b>.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus, in His dying moments continued to teach those who were responsible for His crucifixion as He called out for them to hear \u201cEli, Eli, lema sabachthani?\u201d (which means\u00a0\u201cMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?\u201d).<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0(Matthew 27:46<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0He was quoting from\u00a0Psalm 22:1<\/b>\u00a0which is a messianic scripture.\u00a0\u00a0Rabbis of the day often quoted a scripture, or part of it, and the students were to find the quoted scripture and learn its meaning.\u00a0\u00a0So Jesus, as He was in the last tortuous moments of His life, was reaching out in love so that even after some of His death some may discover who He truly was.<\/p>\n

Paul spoke the truth and was hated for it, but he remained faithful to His Lord.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus, though He knew that He would be hated for it, spoke the truth and remained faithful to the Father (John 12:49<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0We speak the truth of Word of God, though we know that we will be persecuted for doing so.\u00a0\u00a0We also are wrongly accused, but the Lord has beforehand warned us that this would happen (Matthew 5:11-12<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0So like Jesus spoke the truth regardless of consequences, like Paul spoke the truth regardless of consequences, we may hold to and speak the truth, regardless of consequences.\u00a0\u00a0It is He whom we most greatly seek to please!\u00a0\u00a0(Galatians 1:10<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0So we love all of God\u2019s creation, even if the midst of them hating us.\u00a0\u00a0Can it be painful?\u00a0\u00a0Yes, of course.\u00a0\u00a0But it the love of God we seek the most and since we have it, it is the love of God, expressed through Jesus, that we most seek to share with the world.\u00a0\u00a0If we can love others as God has loved us we obey a high command from Jesus (Matthew 22:39<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0So, though wrongly accused, let us do right.\u00a0\u00a0Let us love the one who lights the fire to consume us.\u00a0\u00a0After all if the condemnation of the world falls upon us, then we endure with the multitudes who have endured before us (1 Peter 4:12-14<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0Praise God who calls us to be scorned by the world for His sake and to be eternally loved and kept by God.\u00a0\u00a0Our God is faithful, good and He loves us.\u00a0\u00a0He has assured us that we will live with Him forever!\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s praise God in all we do (Colossians 3:17<\/b>) and never back down from holding to His Word.\u00a0\u00a0Oh how we love Jesus!\u00a0\u00a0Thank you Lord!\u00a0\u00a0Thank you Lord!<\/p>\n

Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Acts 21:27-36\u00a0–\u00a0When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,\u00a028\u00a0shouting, \u201cFellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,1863,1969,101,94,1874,90,2529,10],"class_list":["post-2013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-colossians","tag-galatians","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-peter","tag-psalm-john","tag-romans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2013"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2014,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013\/revisions\/2014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}