Bible Verse
“Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” — Acts 23:11 NIV
Reflection
Our pastor talked about the apostle Paul’s journey after receiving that word from the Lord in Acts 23:11. Looking ahead to Acts 28:30-31, we learn Paul does indeed testify in Rome: “For two whole years, Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!” (NIV)
What happens in between those verses? Take a look through Acts 23-28 and notice everything that comes against Paul: a conspiracy to kill him, prison, long delays, trial, storm at sea, shipwreck, a snake attack. Yet through it all, he never wavers from his certainty that he will share the good news of Jesus in Rome because the Lord spoke that truth to him.
This account of Paul’s certainty and trust in the Lord made me think about the lies we hear every day against the truth of God’s Word. For example, God’s truth tells us He loves us (John 3:16). Yet how often do we hear and believe a lie that we are unloved, unlovable, abandoned, forgotten, alone?
Those lies will come at us—from the enemy, from our own mind, from people around us, from things we’ve allowed people to teach us. But when those lies move against us—and against the truth of God’s Word—we can hold onto the truth, just as Paul did.
Paul pressed through everything that came against him because he trusted God would bring him to Rome to share the good news about Jesus.
In the same way, we can press through the lies that come against us by trusting the truth of God’s Word. Where Paul stood in faith that he would share the good news about Jesus in Rome, we can stand in faith that we are loved, lovable, not abandoned, not forgotten, and not alone.
Prayer
Lord, just as You helped Paul stand in faith in the truth You spoke to him, help us hold fast to Your truth in place of the lies that come against us. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Thought for the Day
Whatever lies are coming against you today, ask God to show you His truth. Then hold fast to that truth, no matter what lies try to shake you.
For more about exchanging lies for God’s truth, you can read the next post: Submitting Our Lies to God’s Truth.
Adventures with God 