Acts 20
Here Paul is moving about on his journeys from place to place and he is led by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, despite warnings also from the Spirit that " [he] only know[s] that in every city the Holy Spirit warns [him] that prison and hardships are facing [him]."
Paul's next statement below strikes me as being deeply challenging:
24 However, I consider my
life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete
the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good
news of God’s grace.
I know that scriptures are clear through many verses that we are to "die to self" or "shed old skin", etc. Yet most of us will rarely if ever be in a position to be physically harmed or in threat of death for any stand we take for God. Nonetheless, Paul makes a valid statement that should challenge us all: "are we as followers of Christ willing to completely give up our existing way of life" to follow God...in other words, are there any aspects of our life that we would NOT be willing to give up to follow God? I need to ponder this question some more but I do hope that I can say yes to God if He asked me to give something up for His glory.
My Prayer: Lord, Your ways, will and plans are great and perfect as I have seen the results of Your hands - blessings that stretch across the universe that are of course too numerous to list or even capture in a human mind. How awesome are You! In contrast Lord, I AM a mess with SO many imperfections here that a list could fill the rest of this page. Yet You LOVE ME and DIED for me! How awesome is that!! Forgive me for my anger daily that continues to ruin lives. Help me Lord with my anger and purify me of this sin. Help me draw nearer to You so that I can be more like You.
