Acts 23: 26-35
As a person whose job was in sales, you always looked
forward to a new opportunity to get in front of the guy in the corner office,
the man who could say yes to your proposal.
Long before you have that appointment, you need to have some
understanding of his company, how they do business, and it helps if you
understand what keeps him up at night, and how to help increase performance
without disrupting the production of the personnel, or products of his
company. The corner office is not
responsible for how it works, but that it will add to the bottom line, and the
worse calls I made in sales was setup by someone who ask for my help on such a
call but had no clue about the company, the opportunities (problems), and the
goals of the corner office. Now that is
a recipe for failure!
Now place yourself in the story; Paul has not prepared for
his corner office visit with Felix the governor, in fact, he has not made an
appointment, it has been arranged by the tribune, Claudius Lysias. And this was the letter that the governor
received on Paul’s arrival. “Claudius Lysias,
to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. This man was seized by the
Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers
and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. And desiring to
know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their
council. I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but
charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. And when it was disclosed
to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once,
ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.” (Acts
23:26-30 ESV)
What we do not know is how much information Paul has been
given by the tribune, but it seems reasonable that being a Roman citizen, he
may have been informed as to where he was being taken. This is the rest of the story of God’s arranging
Paul’s corner office visit to the governor; “So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul
and brought him by night to Antipatris. And on the next day they returned to
the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. When they had come to
Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also
before him. On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when
he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, “I will give you a hearing when
your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's
praetorium.” (Acts 23:31-35 ESV)
Now you may be wondering what it was like to be guarded in
Herod’s praetorium? “In order to provide residences for their provincial
governors, the Romans were accustomed to seize and appropriate the palaces
which were formerly the homes of the princes or kings in conquered countries.
Such a residence might sometimes be in a royal palace, as was probably the case
in Caesarea, where the procurator used Herod's palace.” (International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia)
Never
forget, but God, for it was God’s hand in the order of arranging this corner
office visit. “In his heart a man plans his course, but the
Lord determines his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)
Have
you ask yourself this question: Am I open to “But God” have I a defense of the
hope in me, that is if Christ is living in you?
Now be honest, it’s a private question between you and God, if you doubt
that He is living in you, today, now is the time to ask Him to move into your
life. Never forget, Jesus loves you just
like you are, and He will forgive and restore you, no matter where He finds
you, it’s your choice. Blaise Pascal lived
from 1623 – 1662, and these are some of his thoughts: “In faith there is enough light
for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't.”
From the Back Porch,
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