Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 24:14

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 24:14
"But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:"

I didn't realize that the saints called following the gospel of Jesus Christ, "the way". It reminds me of how we speak now of the, "the covenant path". It is still the straight and narrow way that leads to Christ.

"In Acts, the term “the way” is often used to refer to Christianity; it denotes the path or course of Christians. Central to Christian belief is the doctrine that Jesus Christ is “the way” of salvation and that through Him all will be resurrected. Paul declared that the real reason the Jews opposed him was his belief in the Resurrection. However, he asserted that his message of the Resurrection was not heresy but was identical to the long-held hope of the Jewish nation. President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) spoke of the universal hope that the Resurrection of Christ can bring to us all:
“Through tears and trials, through fears and sorrows, through the heartache and loneliness of losing loved ones, there is assurance that life is everlasting. Our Lord and Savior is the living witness that such is so.
“With all my heart and the fervency of my soul, I lift up my voice in testimony as a special witness and declare that God does live."
(New Testament Student Manual, Chapter 34: Acts 21-28, "Acts 24-15 "The Way")

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
(John 14:6)

Day 4166

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 23:11

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 23:11
"And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."

There were certain Jews that vowed to neither eat or drink until they killed Paul. The chief captain had the soldiers bring him into the castle for his protection. It was that night that the Lord came to him. What must that have felt like for Paul to have confirmation from the Lord himself of how he had testified of Him? The last time the Lord visited him it was on the road to Damascus.

It reminded me of Alma the younger, and how the same angel appeared twice to him. First, when he was with the sons of Mosiah going about to destroy the church. The angel appeared and told him to stop trying to destroy the church or he would be cast off.

"Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off.
And now it came to pass that these were the last words which the angel spake unto Alma, and he departed."
(Mosiah 27:16-17)

The second time the angel appeared it was when Alma was preaching in the city of Ammonihah and had been cast out. Interesting that the messages for both Paul and Alma are to have cheer, and rejoice there is more work to do.

"And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:
Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you."
(Alma 8:14-15)

Day 4165

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 22:7-8

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 22:7-8
"And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest."

What must it have been like for Saul to hear the name Jesus of Nazareth. What he heard and comprehended completely changed his course for the remainder of his life. I sat and pondered on it. There must have been a feeling of profound guilt, repentance and forgiveness in one great wave.

Day 4164

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 21:4, 11, 13

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 21:4, 11, 13
"And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

I pondered on why Paul still went to Jerusalem when it clearly says by the Spirit he was at least told twice not to go? Did he have a death wish? Then I reflected on how much was gained by Paul actually going to Jerusalem, eventually he testified before king Agrippa. Yes, Paul would suffer, but he was determined to do God's will at whatever cost it meant. That is a powerful witness of Jesus Christ.

Day 4163