Acts 23:12-22
English Standard
Version (ESV)
12 When it was day, (A)the Jews made a plot and (B)bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had
killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this
conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and
said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we
have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give
notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to
determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes
near.”
16 Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their
ambush, so he went and entered (C)the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul
called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for
he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune
and said, “Paul (D)the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to
you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The
tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it
that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, (E)“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council
tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him.21 But
do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in
ambush for him, who (F)have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till
they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So
the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have
informed me of these things.”
Hebrews 13:6
English Standard Version (ESV)
6 So we can confidently say,
I don’t believe in coincidences
do you? I don’t think that Paul’s nephew
was at the right place at the right time in order to overhear this plot by happenstance. God placed him at that place at that time for
a reason. Then God gave him the ability
to go to Paul who was locked in the barracks to warn him. How likely do you think that would have
been? To top it off he was able to go
to the one in charge and tell him about the plot against Paul’s life. How easy is it for us to speak to people in
authority? It must have been a challenge
to get to go and speak to the one in charge but it happened and what is even
more amazing is that the man believed Paul’s nephew!
That is how our God works. Things that seem impossible to us are
possible through Christ our Lord. We
have a Savior who hears our prayers and has our back! Sometimes it may not seem that He has our
back but He does. Paul recognized that
and knew that all things would work out for the good of our Father in
heaven. Even though he was locked up and
people were out to kill him, he still trusted that God knew what He was doing
and had a plan! We can all confidently
say that our Lord is our helper and that man is just man. Nothing man does to us is unknown to our Father
in Heaven!
Just the other day my little
three year old granddaughter reminded me of this. I was stewing in my mind about a life
circumstance that I have been going through.
My granddaughter had no idea what I had been thinking about. We were just enjoying ourselves in the
kitchen preparing for a potluck dinner.
She looked up at me and said, “There is nothing my God cannot do, I like
that song”. I looked at her and smiled
and told her that I liked that song too.
I knew which song she was thinking about but could not think of the
words at the time but later in the day I asked her about it again. I said, “What was that song about God in
control that you like?” and her reply, was again, “There is nothing my God
cannot do”. It then came to me and we
sang it together,
“My GOD is so BIG so STRONG and
so MIGHTY there’s nothing my GOD cannot do!”
Coincidence?
Not a chance, my God used my little granddaughter to make a point, He
has my back and was telling me “ So stop fretting and enjoy what life brings
you because it is what I want for your life.”
As you seek Him today may He
reveal to you how GREAT of a GOD He is!!
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
I was reminded of this in an amazing way yesterday. My brother -in-law hadn't trained properly for the Boston Marathon so he was way behind his normal pace. When the bombs went off at the finish line otherwise would have been a predictable finish time for him. How great is God to orchestrate even Adam's speed and endurance that day! We praise God for his protection and trust him in the storms. Thanks for the blog!
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