Over the last several, and I mean SEVERAL, weeks I have been reading and studying the book of Acts. Acts is only 28 chapters, but yah girl is inconsistent at best and has a sleep schedule that fluctuates at least three times a week. The point is not that it took me 79 days to complete a 42 day study, but rather that Scripture is living and active and when we encounter it the Spirit challenges, equips, encourages, and teaches us through it. Someone very dear to me says it well when he says “I am a terrible Christian, but a perfect son [daughter] of God.”
This morning I was meditating and studying the final chapter of Acts and was absolutely wrecked by what I encountered. If you’re not familiar with the Bible or more specifically the book of Acts, it recounts the life of the apostle Paul and other early apostles as they spread the gospel message to Jerusalem and areas surrounding the Mediterranean. Emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit in those who devoted themselves to Christ, Acts lays the groundwork for much of the New Testament.
Paul spent years faithfully preaching the gospel and traveling from city to city discipling and mentoring young churches. However, he was wrongfully accused on many accounts for the boldness he possessed. Paul faced oppression, persecution, and imprisonment for speaking truth and in Acts 28 we learn of how Paul spent house arrest.
Acts 28:23 “After arranging a day with him, many came to him at this lodging. From dawn to dusk he expounded and testified about the kingdom of God.”
Acts 28:30-31 “Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented home. And he welcomed all who visited him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”
Gosh. Go read that again. Seriously, it is that good.
From dawn to dusk. With all boldness and without hindrance.
The season that we are currently living in amidst this pandemic is uncertain, uncomfortable, and uncharted. I want to be clear when I say that I do not believe that quarantine, self-isolation, or even social distancing is easy, but we’ve been doing it for maybe 5 months. Paul was on house arrest for two YEARS (and he didn’t have Tik Tok and silly memes to entertain himself), yet he used that time for the advancement of the gospel. Like, what!? Man, it may totally just be a me thing, but that reality is speaking loudly to my heart today. What would it look like for me to live with all boldness, without hindrance, from dawn to dusk each day?
Paul was living for the eternal by making the most of the temporary. He believed that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was true and he lived like it.
Father, would I too be someone who truly lives like I believe the Gospel.
