Quiet Time in Acts 21
- Filip
- Jun 21, 2022
- 4 min read
EXPAND TO READ: ACTS 21 (HCSB)
Warnings on the Journey to Jerusalem
21 After we tore ourselves away from them and set sail, we came by a direct route to Cos, the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded and set sail. 3 After we sighted Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we sailed on to Syria and arrived at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. 4 So we found some disciples and stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 5 When our days there were over, we left to continue our journey, while all of them, with their wives and children, escorted us out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach to pray, 6 we said good-bye to one another. Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.
7 When we completed our voyage from Tyre, we reached Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them one day. 8 The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. 9 This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
10 While we were staying there many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into Gentile hands.’” 12 When we heard this, both we and the local people begged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 Since he would not be persuaded, we stopped talking and simply said, “The Lord’s will be done!”
Conflict over the Gentile Mission
15 After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason, a Cypriot and an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.
17 When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly. 18 The following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, he related in detail what God did among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 When they heard it, they glorified God and said, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law. 21 But they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, by telling them not to circumcise their children or to walk in our customs. 22 So what is to be done? They will certainly hear that you’ve come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have obligated themselves with a vow. 24 Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay for them to get their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that what they were told about you amounts to nothing, but that you yourself are also careful about observing the law. 25 With regard to the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter containing our decision that they should keep themselves from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
The Riot in the Temple Complex
26 Then the next day, Paul took the men, having purified himself along with them, and entered the temple, announcing the completion of the purification days when the offering for each of them would be made. 27 As the seven days were about to end, the Jews from Asia saw him in the temple complex, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him, 28 shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. What’s more, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has profaned this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple complex.
30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple complex, and at once the gates were shut. 31 As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the commander of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in chaos. 32 Taking along soldiers and centurions, he immediately ran down to them. Seeing the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the commander came up, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the mob were shouting one thing and some another. Since he was not able to get reliable information because of the uproar, he ordered him to be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul got to the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the mob’s violence, 36 for the mass of people followed, yelling, “Take him away!”
Paul’s Defense before the Jerusalem Mob
37 As he was about to be brought into the barracks, Paul said to the commander, “Am I allowed to say something to you?”
He replied, “Do you know Greek? 38 Aren’t you the Egyptian who raised a rebellion some time ago and led 4,000 Assassins into the wilderness?”
39 Paul said, “I am a Jewish man from Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Now I ask you, let me speak to the people.”
40 After he had given permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language:
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 14): This single statement resounded heavily in my heart, because I have failed often since coming to faith with living in this simple statement fully—The Lord’s will be done! I often feel the need to try and control the situations I am in, wanting to bend them to my own will instead of Yours, Father. Please forgive me for this disobedience. You do not call me to follow my own will or the world’s will for my life. You call me to follow Your will for my life. Forgive me for often delving back into my own need for control over the path of my life, Father. Help me to be better at fully embracing the phrase used here of “the Lord’s will be done!”
PROMISE (verse 13): I find Paul’s response here rather profound, but also revealing a promise of Yours. He simply stated that they should stop weeping over him and stop trying to break his heart, because he is fully prepared to die in the name of our Lord Jesus. The promise here is that if we are fully prepared in our faith, then nothing should shake us, not even death! Help me to truly live in this promise, Father, so that I am always prepared and strong in my faith to the point that nothing will cause me to waiver, not even the potential for death if that’s in Your will at the moment.
ATTITUDE (verse 14): Going back to my sin confession, I find this statement as an attitude adjustment that I need for my life. The statement is “the Lord’s will be done!” Oftentimes I have tried to invoke Filip’s will in my life or the world’s will for my life. Oftentimes I have walked in an attitude of control instead of releasing my life fully to You through ALL things, Father. Help me to be better at walking in an attitude of obedience to Your will for my life, but also an attitude of releasing control to You through all things. When I am in control of things in my life, there is rarely a good outcome due to my own weaknesses and mistakes. When I truly release control to You for the outcome but remain in Your will for the steps I take, then the outcome is always amazing and typically surprises me! Help me to be better at walking my journey in this life in Your way, Father, so that Your will is always what I yearn for.
COMMAND (verses 13-14): I see these two verses are speaking the loudest to me today, so this must be the lesson You want me to cling to and learn from the most today. In these verses, You elude to us being fully prepared for anything this life has in store for us by ensuring that we are aligned with and fully embracing Your will for our life. I am not supposed to try and control the outcome of all situations that arise in my life. I am not supposed to try and do what the world would want me to do. I am supposed to prepare for all challenges in this life by leaning on You through it all, gathering Godly wisdom, embracing spiritual discernment, listening to the Holy Spirit, and following Your will for my life. Help me to be better at following this command in my life, Father, so that I am always prepared for whatever this life has in store for me. Help me to be better at following this command, so that no matter the challenges I face in this life, it is Your will that I want done and not my own.
EXAMPLE (verses 37-40): Paul was beaten pretty bad, to the point that he struggled to even walk up the stairs as the guards were leading him to the barracks for reasons they did not know at the time. He politely requested, however, a moment to speak to the crowd. I will learn about what he says to the crowd in my quiet time tomorrow, but I still find it amazing that no matter the physical weaknesses and pain he was currently experiencing, he still felt moved and encouraged by the Spirit to take a moment to speak to the crowd in hopes that Your message would touch their hearts. Help me to live in a way, Father, that I always lean on Your strength through anything in this life. Your strength helped Paul stand-up to speak to the crowd. Your strength gave him the courage to face them in the first place. Your strength gave him what he needed to endure such great pain. It was Your strength that brought him face-to-face with the guards for the purpose of speaking to the crowd and deliver Your message to them.
*DAILY NOTE: Thank You so much for today’s amazing lesson and conversation, Father. I do have a lot of work to do concerning my faith. I do need to ensure that I am always prepared as much as You want me to be for this life’s challenges and obstacles. I do need to ensure that all that I am and all that I do in this life aligns with Your will for my life and not my own. Help me to no longer be selfish and disobedient in my walk with Jesus, Father. Help me to no longer live for my own will for this life. Help me to no longer walk this life in the way the world expects me to. Continue to remind me that You are always here with me, no matter what I am going through at any moment. Continue to remind me that it is Your strength I should always be embracing and not my own. Continue to remind me that no matter the storms of this life, that You are always there to get me through them according to Your will and not my own. Thank You, Father!
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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