Today's Passage - Acts 24:22-27

Acts 24:22-27   Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. "When Lysias the commander comes," he said, "I will decide your case."  He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.  Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.  As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you."   Felix was good to Paul and he enjoyed listening to Paul's preaching, so much that he even asked his wife to join in.  He, however, didn't want to accept Jesus as his personal savior.  Therefore, when Paul talked about "righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come," Felix was deeply fearful.  Felix could have developed reverence for God from his fear, and then he could have repented and turned back to God, or he could deny his feelings and reject God.  He unfortunately chose the latter.  That's why Paul told him to leave and told Felix that he would send for Felix when he's free.   Many have the same attitude towards the gospel.  Everyone, even non-Christians, clearly know that the trend of the world will eventually lead to emptiness, but people in the world are still chasing after material wealth, believing that material goods can bring satisfaction.  Even Christians are no exception!  Why is it this way?  Because of fear in our hearts.  We are afraid that if we don't follow the trend of the world, we cannot be successful and we might not even be able to survive.  Even though we know that God's way is better and precious, we still cannot follow His way because of fear in our hearts.   Ecclesiastes 12:13 says that "now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."  One must first have a heart that fears God before he can keep His commandments.  Only God can give us true peace deep down in our hearts.  When Felix was facing such a decision, he was afraid to choose God, so Paul told him "you may leave."  If you want to develop spiritual depth and experience spiritual breakthrough, you must take action to sincerely obey God.  May the Lord help us not to drag our feet when we are making decisions on spiritual matters, but empower us to take God's way courageously.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we thank you because you are the God who empowers us.  Even though we are facing tremendous temptation and fear because the world has surrounded us and it's hard to avoid the trend of the world, we still thank you because you are the God who brings us peace and you can break any fear inside us so that experience your abundance.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!    Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.