Acts 20:19-24 The Gospel of the Grace of God.

Acts 21:13

Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Grace, amazing grace, the gift of the Father who loves us. He loves all of us in His agape love and wants none of us to live without Him. I am humbled that He could love a sinner like me. Holy Spirit keeps us enclosed in His power to counsel and guide us all the days of our life. Thank you Jesus for showing us the way.  In your sacrifice on the Cross we can stand before our holy God. Jesus gave up His life that we could abide in His righteousness and not ours. Carla

Acts 20:19-24

19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. NKJV)

Acts 20:19-24

19 I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots of the Jews, 

20 and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes. 

21 I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus. 

22 But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, 

23 except that in one city after another the holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. 

24 Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God's grace. New American Bible

Some say that Paul was out of the will of God in going to Jerusalem after the warnings of bonds and afflictions. But there is no evidence that Paul was rebelling against God. On the contrary, Jesus Himself confirmed that the trip was part of His good and perfect will (23:11). While Paul was in a Jerusalem prison, Jesus appeared to him to tell him to take courage. The Lord explained to Paul that just as he had solemnly witnessed for the cause of Christ at Jerusalem, he would do the same in Rome. There was no condemnation, but rather affirmation, of the fact that Paul bore witness to Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. Paul no longer desired to hold on to his life. He sought only the furtherance of God’s kingdom and the honor of Christ, no matter what the earthly cost was. The NKJV Study Bible

Paul has been faithful to God’s calling and has served Jesus sacrificially. With  trials demonstrates the struggle in Paul’s work. The apostle served God through great sacrifice in the trials brought about by his fellow Jews and others. Here he may be specifically referring to the difficulties the church has experienced in Ephesus (19:23–41). The proclamation of the gospel was central to Paul’s calling as an apostle to the non-Jewish people (1 Corinthians 9:16). Repentance  is acknowledging sin and turning from it to follow Christ (Acts 2:38). The gospel of the grace of God refers to the message of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, which allows people to be made right before God the Father. Faithlife Study Bible

Acts 18:5

When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. 

2 Timothy 4:7

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

Acts 20:27

For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 

Acts 20:3

and stayed three months. And when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 

“There's a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lose sight of this force when there is suffering, too much pain. Then suddenly the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call, and answer in extraordinary ways.” From the film “Mother Teresa”

Caring for others is music worth singing. It is the music of Grace. It is the music that brings people out of hiding, out of unease, and out of fear.
Songs that invite courage, and renewal, and resilience.
Songs that let us know; it is safe to come home.
This I know: I want a world where is it safe to come home.
I want to live in a world where fear is not the final word.

My friends, let us remember than many hearts are sore. People around us, people we know and love. So, thank you again, Mr. Rogers. “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

In “The Return of the Prodigal Son”, Henri Nouwen offers this testimony: “Every time I take a step in the direction of generosity, I know that I am moving from fear to love.” Sabbath Moments

As we've been walking through the New Testament, focusing on who Jesus is and who we are, today we find that Christ Himself calls us to be "witnesses" of the gospel Truth (Acts 1:8). A witness is someone who has knowledge from personal experience or observation.Jesus imparted this identity to His disciples after His resurrection, making one final physical appearance to them before He ascended back to heaven.

The disciples had been waiting for Jesus in Jerusalem, and they wanted to know when He would bring justice for their people and "restore the kingdom to Israel" (Acts 1:6). However, Jesus responded that the timeline was in the hands of the Father. Instead of promising immediate relief from Roman oppression, the Savior imparted these final words: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

This was both a promise and a mandate, providing the means and the location of their next steps. In fact, many scholars distinguish this not only as a key verse for the book of Acts but also an outline for the mission of God's Church. It's like a "table of contents" referencing three regions where ministry would unfold:

1. Jerusalem and Judea (which we see fulfilled in Acts 2:42-8:3).

2. Samaria (which we see fulfilled in Acts 8:4-12:24).

3. The world (which we see beginning in Acts 12:25-28:31 as the gospel spread even to the imperial city of Rome, home to inhabitants from across the globe).

As the Church, we continue this witnessing today, knowing Jesus will return and forever defeat Satan by "the blood of the Lamb and by the word of [our] testimony" (Revelation 12:11). And we don't have to accomplish this mission in our own strength. We have the power of the Holy Spirit. First5

Hebrew 12:11-12 May Holy Spirit guide us in the way of peace.

 Prayer for Refugees

“Give me your tired, your poor,

your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me.”

—Emma Lazarus

James 3:17–18

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

We will learn our lesson to love others as God loves us…the hard way or His way of peace but we will learn. Carla

Hebrew 12:11-12 

11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. NKJV)

Hebrews 12:11-13

At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. 

12 So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. 

13 Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed. The New American (Catholic) Bible

Although discipline is painful, it produces positive results. Those who have been trained by God’s discipline are like a well-trained athlete who perseveres through practice. Here, the author urges believers to live in peace and holiness. Faithlife Study Bible

Although fathers discipline for awhile as they see fit, God disciplines us with our good welfare in mind. With every trial, God is fashioning us into a holy people, set apart for His good purposes (verses 14; 10:10). The peaceable fruit of righteousness suggests that the result of God’s chastening is peace and righteousness. The NKJV Study Bible

Isaiah 35:3

Strengthen the weak hands,

And make firm the feeble knees.

Isaiah 32:17

The work of righteousness will be peace,

And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.

1 Peter 1:6

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 

Job 4:3–4

Surely you have instructed many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

And you have strengthened the feeble knees;

 I believe that the more we practice kindness and compassion, the stronger that energy of love becomes within us and within those who follow after us. Judy Cannato describes this reality in her Field of Compassion: ‘We live in a world of grace, and as we more consciously receive grace, each of us becomes a Field of Compassion. Each one of us becomes open to love a little more completely, and then love pours out of us and into the world. As we become free, others experience freedom in our presence and can choose to be open to love, too. This is our life work, our great work, what the Universe asks and what this moment in time demands. Our work requires all that we have become and all that we are becoming. It requires a ‘yes’ that at one moment may be whole-hearted and the next tentative and unsure. But together our ‘yes’ is empowering. Let us imagine the grace, then, hold it in our hearts and manifest, one day at a time, a Field of Compassion.’

…We are humans carrying the memory of love, the kind reflected and taught by Jesus and all compassionate leaders before him and since then. The possibility for reinforcing this quality of the human heart dwells within each of us. It flows forth with every gesture of kindness toward those who suffer, and strengthens the field of compassion as it does so. (Thank you Joyce) SabbathMoments 

Companion of the Companionless

Companion of the Companionless,

let my day not go by without remembering

the sixty-five million people forced from homelands

due to poverty, crime and political conflict.

Home of the Homeless,

gather the shawl of your compassion

around those who have nowhere to abide,

nowhere to call home, nowhere to work.

Nurturer of the Impoverished,

turn the attention of political leaders

toward systems that cause oppression;

urge them to open their doors to refugees.

Comforter of the Injured,

the prophet Hosea describes your love

as that of a parent lifting a child to her cheek.

Lift, now, the demoralized and beaten-down.

Refuge of the Lost,

protect those who are tossed upon the seas.

Be near to those thirsting in the deserts

and roaming dangerous city streets.

Hope for the Hopeless,

lift up the heavy hearts of families

who have lived for years in camps;

do not let their hope slip away.

Justice Bringer,

Bother us. Keep after us. Open our eyes.

Widen our hearts. Change our judgments.

Urge us. Chase us. Badger us, until we act

on behalf of the sixty-five million people

whose tears fall on foreign soil.

Joyce Rupp, Prayers of Boundless Compassion

2 Timothy 4:7 Fight the good fight of faith!

1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 

When you have done all that you can, stand, and let the power of God accomplish all that you cannot. The grace of God moves mountains. Keep the faith it pleases God. Carla

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. NKJV)

2 Timothy 4:7 I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. New American Bible 

Paul had been vigilant in his service to God. Note that Paul did not make these comments until the end of his race, until he was about to die. He did not presume or rely on His past service. Instead he persevered, struggled, and served God until the end (1 Corinthians 9:24–27). The NKJV Study Bible

Paul’s use of athletic imagery seems to suggest that he expects to die soon. Even in such dire circumstances, Paul considers himself victorious because he remained faithful to God. Faithlife Study Bible

Acts 20:24

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown…

1 Timothy 1:18

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 

This I know: I want a world where is it safe to come home.
I want to live in a world where fear is not the final word.

“Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up.” Jesse Jackson reminded us. Now that, my friends, that is the music of Grace.

And we say, “Thank you, Mr. Jackson, for making our world a better place. And may you rest in peace.”
Former President Obama said, “He was relentless in his belief that we are all children of God, deserving of dignity and respect.”

Yes. Belief is, literally, all about where and how our feet hit the ground in terms of the choices we make.
It’s not uncommon to be asked, “What do you believe?”
And in response, we recite a creed (or doctrine or dogma). And it’s not that we don’t avow what we recite. It’s just that creed profession is one thing, and we need a paradigm shift in terms of how we “measure belief”.

Instead of asking, “What do you believe?” Let us say, “Show us how you treat the least among us, and then we will know what you believe.”

“We need stories that tell us the reason why compassion and the humane treatment of our fellows is more important—and interesting—than feathering our own nests as we go on accumulating property and power.” William Kittridge

“Our country and our people cannot continue to be drenched in animosity, hatred, and the denial of respect for human beings. There has to be another way home to peace and justice. A Herod-like atmosphere cannot be allowed to destroy our nation’s spirit of hospitality and good will for all.” Thank you, Joyce Rupp.  “Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey 

Romans 15:13 (ESV) "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Joy and peace may feel distant from us when life is difficult. But the tug-of-war tension gives way to God's Truth when we seek "joy and peace in believing" (Romans 15:13), even when we don't have joy and peace in feeling. Earlier in his letter to the Roman church, Paul also reminded believers that hope is not an emotional response to how well things are going around us. Instead, "through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant [this] ..." (Romans 15:4-5).

Even when God's promises don't fit our preferences, through the Holy Spirit's power, we can learn to trust His Word and wait faithfully for Him. If God met all our desires and expectations immediately, we wouldn't need to endure ... but that's not what He promises.Instead, through life's ups and downs, God gives us His strength in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), and He gives us His Word as our instruction. If a situation doesn't change, or even if it worsens, faith keeps us open to what's still possible with our limitless "God of hope" (Romans 15:13).

The church in Rome was facing persecution as well as divisions between Jewish and gentile believers, and Paul knew these problems and pains wouldn't disappear the moment they opened their Bibles. But the hope he referred to in today's key verse was about more than earthly desires being fulfilled. The ultimate hope is joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation through Christ (Romans 5:3-5; Romans 12:12).

Joy comes from delighting in Him. Peace comes from releasing our cares to His care. We can be certain that even in the places where sins' burdens and life's battles have left us empty, we will "abound in hope" (Romans 15:13). First5