Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A Brave Young Boy in Acts

I recently read through all of Acts. As I read through it, I realized there were parts of Acts that I had not ever read. The first thing was that I had not read through Acts in sequence. Reading a book of the Bible in chapteral order makes it an entirely different experience than if you read it in broken sections. I also read Stephen's speech for the first time. In times past, I had simpley skimmed or skipped it. I was amazed at the powerful truth behind the martyr-to-be's words. I also noted for the first time that Stephen was one of the seven men in charge of food distribution. Luke, the writer of Acts, spoke highly of Stephen's faith when listing the seven men. In chapter 23, when Paul is inprisoned, I learned of a young boy who saved Paul's life. Paul's nephew, the son of his sister, heard the plot and saved Paul's life. If this little boy didn't have the bravery to go and tell Paul and later the centurion, Paul would have been assassinated, and would never have written letters to many churches while in prison. Think about that. Because a young boy happened to overhear a plot on Paul's life, Paul was able to write half of the New Testament. Is that God or what?

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

I got a little excited over this post because a couple of months ago I read through Acts. I read a lot of parts that I had apparently missed before. I never remembered Acts being so fast paced and exciting. Anyway, definitely has some things to think about it. I like that part in chapter 23 as well; it is a good reminder that, no matter your age, you can still be useful to God and others.

Sophie said...

Isn't it an incredible book??? I love seeing how the church spreads and the fire spreads around the known world. I love the little known characters who just do their small part, make their hard choice and then have a hand in a huge event! God is so good to use even the weakest among us!