"The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, 'Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.'" — Acts 23:11 (NIV)
We continued on to the life of Paul for today’s readings.
As I read the verses assigned to me today, the line said by Paul during the trial stood out for me - “I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.” I am not very familiar with the verses and so I read other materials on it, and there I read that for this line, Paul was actually putting his hope on Jesus, who resurrected from the dead. And this was not necessarily established as a fact back then, as much as it does now. This speaks so much of Paul’s hope and faith on Jesus, which we can somehow replicate in our own lives. We can rest in the fact that our God has conquered death, all for the love of us, and our salvation.
And finally, for the last verse from today’s reading - “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” It just tells me that whatever we are facing today may be a preparation for whatever it is to come in the future. Our God is the master planner, and as He knows what we will face in the future, he prepares us and equips us that we may face them head on.
And so, for today’s readings - we learn that we can trust the Lord. We can trust that He is the God who resurrects from the dead. And the God who prepares us for whatever the future may hold. Today I pray that we may stay in faith and trust the Lord.
Reflection on Acts 22:30 - 23:11 by Blessie Sto Tomas
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