ACTS of the Apostles, part 2

Wednesday September 14

ACTS of the Apostles, Part 2

Learning How to be Daring and Dynamic

Read Acts 20:13-38

Focus Verse: Acts 20:24

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Today we come to an emotional passage. Paul mentions tears and struggle and longing and leaving. In his travels he has experienced an abundance of both highs and lows, and he knows he's not quite done with the life-long mission that Jesus gave him. In this portion of his journey, he travels from city to city (from Assos to Mitylene to Kiosto to Samos to Miletus), declaring "to both Jews and to Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in the Lord Jesus"(v 21). He never strays from this message, even in the midst of being consistently and "severely tested by the plots of the Jews" (v 19).

He called for the elders of Ephesus to come to him so he could give them a serious pep talk. He encouraged them to shepherd their flock and to be on their guard from "savage wolves." Paul also told them that he was moving on to Jerusalem and that he would most likely not see them ever again on this side of heaven. Of course, this saddened all who listened. Our header verse, Acts 20:24, could quite possibly be Paul's "life verse" if he had to choose one. Reread it again:

"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

Let's face it, Paul was bent in One direction.

Are we bent in One direction?

Another mantra of his was, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

Can I say these words about my own life? Can you?

Fill in the blank, "To live is...".

Wow, I'm a little convicted! (Sometimes, "to live is..." way more Chris-driven than Christ-driven!)

We may not all be mighty evangelists like Paul, but the book of Acts has reminded us that we have the same daring and dynamic Spirit living in us today. "To live is Christ" means: to love, to care for, to give, to serve, to speak...all through the power of his Spirit.

Paul's heart was for one more person, one more person, one more person to know the truth and to experience the love of the Lord Jesus. His life was wrapped up...in Christ.

An inspiration to us all.

Dear Lord God,

Bend us in your direction. May you be the first things on our minds in the morning and the last thing on our minds at night. Give us One ambition--to make Jesus known. By words or deeds, may we pour your love into one more person, one more person, one more person day after day. For to live is Christ. Amen.