Acts 23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Terrific. So now I have to go to Rome too?

I read thru what happened to Paul when he got to Jerusalem in today’s devotional. He spoke what the Lord laid on his heart. He was obedient, and what did he get in return? He almost got torn to bits by an angry mob (shouting “Rid the earth of him. He is not fit to live”), got arrested, almost flogged and then punched in the face by the religious leaders (literally punched in the face). And then the Lord tells him he gets to do it all again in Rome, where the jail-keeper is getting ready to ship him off to.

I’m not going to lie. I feel like I did my Jerusalem tonight. I don’t want to do Rome. Continue reading →