Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

Father God, help me to quiet my spirit, to hear your voice from your word, and to respond as You desire.

I love surprises. And because I love surprises, I tend to think everyone loves a good surprise. Do you like surprises? Do you like to give them, receive them, or possibly both? When was the last time you were surprised?

We live in a time where everyone wants the credit and almost no one desires accountability. What a savior we have in Jesus, who assumed all the accountability and credited His righteousness to us, even though we are sinners. Truly an upside-down kingdom.

In Acts 25, we have a new Governor, Festus, who succeeded Felix, and we find Paul still in custody. He heard the accusations and their desire to transfer Paul back to Jerusalem so they might kill him on the way. Paul, in his defense, states he has done no wrong against Jewish laws, the temple, or Caesar. He continues, “I appeal to Caesar.” Festus responds, “To Caesar, you have appealed; to Caesar, you shall go.”

What surprised me, was King Agrippa’s response in verse 22 “I would like to hear the man myself.” The next day, Paul finds himself brought in before the king, the military audience with all the pomp. Festus introduces Paul in this environment to speak before King Agrippa.

Have you ever been surprised by what God has done, where He has put you, or a circumstance He has placed you in? Do you look for these? Maybe if you stop and think a bit, still nothing comes to mind. I think that’s ok, those may not be the easiest moments to recall off-hand. But we know the One who does remember, who is faithful, and we might pray to ask Him to gently remind us of a time where His grace surprised us unexpectedly.

I’m not surprised by Paul’s boldness, as that is who he is, full of passion. I was surprised at how Agrippa desired to "hear the man." And we will see in the next chapter, oh he will hear him! Find someone today to share a time when God surprised you. As we take small moments to share God’s faithfulness, it will do so much for our walk with Christ.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for how You care and reveal Yourself to us, the unmerited grace You show us each and every day, moment by moment. Father God, help us to remember the sweet times You surprised us, help us to remember those moments, and share them with others. Thank You for loving us and the ultimate gift of Jesus.

Family Devo: No One to Help Paul

By: Scott Strahan

Now that a new governor, Festus, was in charge, he had to make the decision about Paul that Governor Felix would not make himself. He had to determine whether Paul had committed crimes worthy of severe punishment and death as the Jewish leaders claimed. Therefore, he went to the city of Caesarea where Paul was being held prisoner, and there he would hear accusations against Paul from the Jewish leaders and allow Paul to defend himself.

The Jewish leaders made their case but could not prove any of the accusations they made against Paul. Paul, of course, denied everything they said because he had not done anything wrong. He said he had not broken any of the laws of the Jews, nor the laws of the temple, nor any laws of the government. Paul was clearly innocent of all charges against him, but it was basically his word against theirs.

Governor Festus found himself in the same position as Governor Felix; he believed Paul, but because doing what was right would be unpopular, he refused to make the decision.

We all know how hard it is to do the right thing sometimes, but God tells us in Proverbs 3:26-27 that He will be our confidence, so we don’t have to be scared of making hard decisions, and we should do good when we have the opportunity. He also tells us in Proverbs 21:3 that to do what is right is pleasing to Him.

Governor Festus wanted to send Paul back to Jerusalem and let the Jewish leaders handle it, but Paul, remembering that Jesus told him he would testify of Him in Rome (Acts 23:11) and knowing the Jewish leaders had no legal authority to decide his guilt or innocence, asked to be judged by Caesar Augustus who was the emperor of Rome. An emperor is like the boss’s boss; he had more authority than Governor Festus or anyone else in the land.

Governor Festus was all too eager to send Paul away and let someone else make the difficult decision, but to do that he had to write a letter to Caesar explaining the reason Paul was being sent to him. Because it was obvious that Paul had done nothing wrong, Festus had to write something that sounded better than “I’m too much of a coward to do the right thing and make a difficult decision,” so he enlisted the help of King Agrippa to hear the case and come up with something creative to write to Caesar so he didn’t look like he was shirking his responsibilities. Tomorrow, we see how that turns out.

• Prayer: Dear God, please help me to find strength in You to make difficult decisions and not to think too much about what others might say or think. Remind me that doing the right thing is always right and good.