Have Courage!
MY CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD
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Have Courage!
Welcome to the OABG Daily Blog and Podcast!
It’s raining here where I am and only a small part of me wanted to stay snuggled in bed. I talked to the Lord and then I remembered how amazing I felt when I got up early and got my assignments done, and that’s when I flipped those covers off of me and swung my legs to the side of the bed and started praying. I didn’t even make it to the prayer closet before I just started giving my Lord and Savior adoration and praise. By the time my feet hit the floor, I was even more energized to keep on praying! Plus I was excited to read the next chapter of Acts for our Scriptural Bible Study!! So let’s go there because it was in the Scriptural Bible Study that the Holy Spirit spoke to me.
Here in Acts 23, we pick up the story where Paul is appearing before the Sanhedrin (similar to being in court, except its a bunch of elders sitting around you to hear your case). He was being accused by the Jews. Paul looked the elders in the eyes and said, Brothers I have lived my life before God in all good conscience to this day. And at that moment, Paul got punched in the mouth. Of course the Bible says he was striked on the mouth), but either way, it was an unexpected blow to the mouth. Paul snapped immediately as any person would. I know if someone hit me in the mouth, I would be ready to lay hands. But Paul didn’t fight with his hands. He did use that same stricken mouth though and said: “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall!” Okay, now for me, I read that like he said a cuss word. You whitewashed wall!! Come on Paul!! Let them know what’s up!! LOL! I learned in my study notes that a whitewashed wall refers to a thing made to look clean on the outside though it is actually dirty on the inside! Chile! That was just like Paul saying, you dirty joker you! Because we know Paul was a changed man and he was NOT CUSSING at folks y’all, especially not after he had just said he was living his life before God in all good conscience in verse one!!
Okay so fast forward to verses 4-10. It got hot in there when Paul called the so-called high priest a whitewashed wall. Paul didn’t realize the man was a high priest when he said it and acknowledged the fact that it was written that “you must not speak evil of a ruler of your people. But again, it got real hot in there and the group of people who had gathered start arguing back and forth when Paul acknowledged that he was a Pharisee. See Paul realized that the group was full of both sadducees (a group that denied the resurrection) and Pharisees (a group that believed in the resurrection of the dead) and of course Paul identified with them because his message was about the risen Savior Jesus. But it got so crunk in there, the commander ordered Paul to be taken away to the barracks.
Now verse 11, which is the verse that stood out most to me and the verse where the Holy Spirit spoke to me.
The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.”
I can imagine that after all that had gone down in the court, Paul was feeling some kind of way. Maybe he was even feeling a bit discouraged. But that night though, the LORD STOOD BY HIM and said HAVE COURAGE! By definition, courage means strength in the face of pain or grief; the ability to do something that frightens one.
The Holy Spirit then said to me: When you are ON ASSIGNMENT FOR ME, I am with you and I will always stand by you. I will encourage you as you do My Will. You are never alone in your obedience to Me.
That was so encouraging to me as I wrote it down in my journal! See when when we look at the scripture, it never indicated that Paul was afraid, but we can infer that there was some unspoken fear in Paul because that night the Lord stood by him, that means he got close to him and encouraged him. He let Paul know that He was right there. Then he also confirmed Paul’s assignment by saying, “as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify about me in Rome.” Now I don’t know if this was a night vision/dream but it was at night. And I am learning more and more about how God speaks to us at night in our dreams. More on my new insights later.
So that morning, we get to the place where 40 Jews had decided to not eat or drink until they kill Paul (insert major eye roll here). I don’t know why I was shaking my head when I read that. I’m like, Lord these people here. They just gonna do a fake fast in order to kill Paul? Oh okay then. But as they were plotting, someone overheard them. That someone was Paul’s nephew y’all! Paul sister son. Now look at that. In the study notes, I got too tickled as Dr. Evans said: if the Lord knows how to have a nephew at the right place at the right time to foil the plans of a band of killers, then he knows how to take care of you no matter what you’re up against!
Listen! LOL! Y’all nephew Tommy went and told Paul what he heard. Yeah I just made that little boy name up. But anyway, he went and told Paul and Paul was able to get a centurion to take his nephew to the commander to let him know what was being plotted. And the commander ended up getting a 470 member army together and they moved Paul that night to a different location so that he could be kept under guard. But we know that Paul was ultimately being KEPT BY GOD!
I sure do hope that you all are enjoying this Scriptural Bible Study like I am. One thing I am learning is that when you out here in these streets being obedient, you ain’t got to worry about NOTHING. God got you! And you might get punched in the mouth for speaking the word of God; and you might snap like Paul did, but we can rest assured that God is in full control of it all. Plus we can stand on Romans 12:19: Vengeance is mine said the Lord.
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YOUR ASSIGNMENTS
What did the Lord God say to you in your conversation with Him this morning?
Reflect on a time where God told you to HAVE COURAGE. Use that reminder that if He was with you then, He is with you now, and He will never leave you.
REMINDER: Don’t forget to read the Scriptural Bible Study below and see what the Lord says to you about it.
SALVATION PRAYER
If you’re not a believer and have a desire to be, openly confess and declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer out loud, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community and start having a conversation through prayer with God every day. And let me be the first to welcome you to your new life with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. YAAAAY!!!!! You made the best decision you could ever make! Feel free to email me at info@onassignmentbyGod.com and let me know about your newfound life or if you need prayer for anything.
Check out today’s Scriptural Bible Study!!