Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the commander ordered Paul to be taken to the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and questioned in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. Then the commander said, “I had to pay a big price for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.
– Acts 22:22-29
Devotion
Just as the persecution was reaching a fever pitch, Paul invoked his rights as a Roman citizen. This means that his case would eventually be appealed to Caesar’s tribunal in Rome. Thus, via a treacherous sea voyage, a shipwreck near Malta, and other life-threatening events, Paul would come to Rome as a prisoner of the state.
The Big Question
Paul found himself in chains, a prisoner of the state, all because of his faith in Jesus. The road that lay ahead would ultimately lead to his conviction and death. Yet, in the years that it would take for this process to complete, Paul would continue to tell anybody who would listen about the Good News of Jesus. Who is in your top three? Today, who will you tell about Jesus?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.