Saturday, February 18

Make me dangerous!

Scripture: Leviticus 7-8, Psalm 21, Acts 25

Acts 25:1–3 Now three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul to him. 3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul, they urged Festus to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush to kill him along the way.

Observation

Paul spent two years in prison in Caesarea under governor Felix. When Festus took over, the Jewish leaders renewed their attacks on Paul, hoping Festus would condemn him or bring him to trial in Jerusalem so they could ambush and kill him. 

I was struck by the fact that they still wanted to kill Paul after two years in prison. Why hadn’t they forgotten about him? He was locked up and out of the way; you would think their problem was solved and Paul would be a distant memory. Why did they still think him dangerous?

It seems safe to infer that Paul was doing something during those two years that kept their animosity alive. What was he doing? We know that Paul wrote letters to churches from other jail cells. Perhaps he was doing that here as well. Maybe one day we’ll find a long lost letter of Paul to the church in Jerusalem! Or perhaps church leaders from Jerusalem and other cities came to visit Paul in Caesarea and went home inspired and kept the movement growing. 

One thing seems clear: after 2+ years in jail, Paul was still considered a danger to be eliminated. So it seems safe to assume that he used his jail time to advance the gospel and do God’s work.

Application

I’ve wondered why God allowed one of his best workers to be sidelined in jail for two years. Maybe he wasn’t sidelined at all! Paul seems to have used whatever circumstance he was in as a platform for the gospel.

What circumstances am I in that feel like jail? Restrictive? God wants to use me right there. Don’t think there is nothing you can do. Instead, believe that God can make you dangerous right where you are, in bigger and better ways than you can imagine. God is bigger than your jail, your restrictions.

Later, Paul wrote this from another jail cell:

2 Timothy 2:8–9 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.

You may be in jail. God is not! And his word is not chained. Let him use you right where you are and make you dangerous to the darkness!

Prayer: Jesus, I love you. I’m facing some limits, some restrictions right now, and I choose to believe that you are bigger than my limits and can use me right where I am. Make me dangerous like Paul!