Year: 2016

I want to focus on the verse 15.  How many times have you said, I know what I’m supposed to do, but for some reason I just keep making the same mistake, or, in most cases, I keep committing the same sin?  This is exactly what Paul is talking about here.  Every single one of us knows what we are supposed to do.  We all know that we can’t just will to do the right thing.  Only with putting ourselves in the hands of our Savior do we even have a chance.  In vs. 15 he speaks for us when he says: “I don’t understand my actions.”  I don’t understand why I keep going back to that which I know is going to harm me.  Again, our will is not able to force our actions to change.  It is almost as if sin is an addiction that if we just try to fight on our own, we cannot overcome it.  Vs.24 Paul calls himself a wretched man and in desperation asks the question: who is going to save me.  The answer comes in vs. 25.  

Let’s go back to the first part of this Scripture.  It is always interesting to me when I discuss divorce with people who for most other issues have fairly orthodox and conservative approaches to Scripture.  If they have been married to one person all of their life then they can sign on to this Scripture, if they have lived through the trauma of a divorce, for that is what it is, then they have a very different understanding.  If you will notice that Paul’s approach is coming strictly from the obligations that the woman would have.  If her husband dies then she is freed.  If her husband is alive then she is bound.  Jesus also addressed divorce and he added a caveat: “except for unchastity”, but this was from the perspective of the man.  The man should not divorce except for the case of unchastity.  So where does that leave us?

It is universally known that men and women did not have the same rights in Jesus’ day.  He had to speak about them separately because they were viewed and judged separately under the law.  The woman did not have the power to divorce, but she could be divorced.  The ability for a man to divorce his wife was unlimited.  So…imagine what would happen if a woman woke up one morning and for no reason of their own, was kicked out of the house, divorced.  Paul says she should not remarry, Jesus says the man should not have divorced her in the first place.  In Paul’s scenario the woman is left with no place to go, is not allowed to marry to have a home to protect her.  In Jesus’ scenario the man should not divorce his wife.  It is here where Scripture is not as clear and black and white as we would like it to be.  As a result, we are given the freedom to continue to follow the Holy Spirit and see where it leads us in regards to divorce and remarriage.  There are other areas of Scripture that give us this freedom where we do not see a message that is always consistent with itself and so we must discern the movement and the voice of the Holy Spirit in the text.

For this reason within the Presbyterian Church, and in my own theology, divorce is never the desired result, but sometimes it is the necessary one.  When it needs to become, or has become the result, I’m going to allow myself to give the benefit of the doubt to those who are in my midst that they are following God’s will.  It isn’t complicated when you are dealing with people and when Scripture gives you the freedom of interpretation that doesn’t contradict His Holy Word.

Can we start with vs.23?  Go back and read that again, okay, if you don’t want to go back I’ll include it here: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Do you see that beautiful juxtaposition where Paul includes the promise of what God will do for us.  But, do you notice where he starts?  Again, we start at the place where we need to recognize our limitations.  Let me be more precise, he begins by lifting up our sinfulness and ends with the grace of God which is free and which ultimately leads to eternal life.

But if we were talking about grace and how important it is to recognize that it is free, and that it is the most evident when it is held up against the foil of sin, then, as Paul states, maybe we should sin more and more just in order to received more and more grace.  I know, that sounds ridiculous to us, but there is some logic to that.  The beginning of chapter 6 is used routinely for both baptisms and funerals.  In baptisms we are reminded that Jesus died for our sins and as a result we are baptized into his death.  Does that make sense to you?  Let me explain.  Jesus’ death produces the defeat of sin because of the resurrection.  In our baptism we are proclaiming that we have a new Lord and so we, in turn, die to sin.  So, if we have died to sin then we should not let sin reign in our lives.  In funerals we are reminded of the powerful message of the resurrection.  There is more to life than this life.

I think we need to go back to vs. 23.

I find myself in Jacksonville, Florida on nearly a week of leave to re-energize and refresh and read and go to the river and pray.  No, literally, I’ve already done that today.  Here is a picture below.  

Part of my time here I have also decided to read the book that a friend of mine wrote called Grace Without God.  As you can tell from the title she is part of the Nones generation and has no religious affiliation.  The overriding question in the book (at least from my conversation with her since I haven’t started reading the book) is how do those who are not affiliated to church and also to God (I know, two different things but for her they would be the same thing) still be able to get the joy from fellowship and still have a sense of grace.  I will be curious as to what insight she has and match it with the relevance that we still have as an institutional church.  We do have relevance, and I can see it every day through each one of you.  How does someone without that point of reference be able to see that same kind of relevance, but without God?  It’s a great question and hopefully before this trip is over I’ll come back with some kind of answer.  

Paul talks a lot about grace in this chapter.  It really is the Grace chapter for Romans.  He begins by repeating that we have been justified, made right before God, by faith, not by our works.  Then in vs.2 he begins to talk about Grace and we see how important it truly is.  He calls God’s Grace that upon which we stand.  You remember that hymn…On Christ the Solid Rock I stand.  That solid rock is the grace of God that forgives us even while we were yet sinners.  Jump now to vs.8.  This is an extraordinary verse for me.  Anyone would die for someone who deserves it.  We would all die for our spouses and our children.  But if we saw someone whom we didn’t trust and was foul mouthed, and was antithetical to everything for which we stood, it might be hard to stand in front of a moving train to save his life if our life is put in danger.  But that is exactly who we are (remember, we have to begin with the fact that we are sinners), and that is exactly what Jesus did for us.  

Don’t gloss over the whole Adam and Jesus discussion.  Jesus has always been described as the second Adam.  This is true in the sense that through Adam sin entered into the world, and through Jesus’ righteousness, justification became a part of our reality.  Let’s talk about the sin that entered the world through Adam.  Yes, I know, Eve ate the apple, but both of them, Adam and Eve were guilty.  Remember, in the Hebrew the word Adamah means dirt and Adam can mean man or better yet, humanity.  So if we talk about Adam and the sin that entered the world we have to talk about original sin.  Now, this is where my potential non-orthodoxy enters the picture.  

I do not believe, as St. Augustine said, that every single one of us is born a sinner from birth.  We are created in sin according to St. Augustine.  I don’t believe that.  We are born, each one of us, with a propensity for sin.  We are born with a seemingly irreversible desire and attraction for sin which will inexorably lead us to sin.  But, we are still born in the image of God, and that image is perfect.  As Calvin states, that image is so cloudy and obfuscated that it is almost impossible to see.  It is almost as if we are born with sin, but we are not.  We are born with an undeniable momentum that will carry us toward sin.  For me that is far different from saying that we are born with sin attached.  God makes us in His own image and hopes beyond hope that we will not turn away from Him.  But sadly, we do.  

But take heart!  Just as freely as we sin, so freely, as vs.15 following reminds us, do we receive the gift of salvation.  This is so important to remember.  Jesus died for us without strings attached.  Vs. 18 is the verse that reminds us that even though we sin, Jesus’ justification covers it, completely.  

Paul lays out a great argument in regards to how our salvation comes not from the fulfillment of the law or checking of any boxes, but rather through faith which is  by grace.  Not even faith, not even the words: “I believe”, is a direct ticket into heaven.  Those words and the act of faith is not an act that would deserve our salvation.  As Paul states in vs. 4 wages are something that we expect after we work.  It doesn’t work that way with salvation.  It doesn’t work that way for those who want to inherit eternal life.  It is the relationship that we have with God which allows us to become co-heirs with Abraham to the promises that God made to him years ago.  This is Paul’s argument.  

Look at the latter part of this chapter.  Especially starting at vs.22 where Paul lays out the case that Abraham was seen as righteous by God even before his act of circumcision.  It was not as if the moment that Abraham was circumcised then, and only then, did God see him as righteous.  No, the circumcision was a sign that Abraham was God’s child.  Now circumcision for us today as Christians has been replaced by the sacrament of baptism.  We no longer see circumcision as the sign that God has chosen us.  That is a good thing otherwise all the women out there would be out of luck.  Baptism is the sign and seal of God claiming us as his children.  So, in regards to baptism, is the act of being baptized what saves us?  Is the statement that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior that which saves us?  Absolutely not, but rather the faith that God through his grace places upon us.  This is the salvation that comes from God primarily and exclusively for those who would call out His name.

Vs. 24 spells that out very, very clearly.  Those who believe in the one who raised Jesus from the dead will be reckoned, or considered, as righteous.  I’m going to leave you with that thought, and a clip of the choir that my daughter Naomi has been travelling with over the last three weeks.  It’s in Rio.  She’s the blonde one in the botttom right corner of the choir.   It is a powerful video: https://youtu.be/EArTu37c0xI

Romans 3:23 is another one of those memory verses that take us down the “Roman Road”.  You may not have heard of the Roman Road.  It is an evangelistic tool usually used by the more, should I say it, fundamentalist branch of the Christian faith.  Here is a link if you wanted to follow the Roman Road.  

https://www.teenmissions.org/resources/roman-road-to-salvation/

All have fallen short of the glory to God is the basis of our understanding of who we are, quickly followed by, God so loved the world.  I do think, however, we need to have the Romans 3:23 verse in there before we have the John 3:16.  Our abject sinfulness needs to be recognized before we can do any good at all.  

Then Paul rattles off Romans 3:28 which was the basis for the Reformation which reminds us that we are saved by faith and not by any works at all.  Especially not the works of the law.  Let’s be clear that it does seem like Paul seems to be backtracking a little in these verses compared to how in the past couple chapters he has been a real champion of the gentiles.  He begins by laying out the history of the people of Israel and how God has, not had, chosen them to be His people.  They are the chosen people.  It all makes the most sense that the people who have come from Abraham accept and understand who Jesus is because he has come along that line.  The fact that we are saved by faith apart from any work of the law applies to not just the gentiles, but the Jew as well.  Chapter 3 contains the basic Gospel message that we would do well to hear and understand.

Isn’t it nice to know that God shows no partiality?  Wait, did you catch the context in which God doesn’t show partiality.  It is for those who fall short of the glory of God, that is all of us, and so all of us deserve the death that follows a sentence.  Vs. 11 tells us that God shows no partiality within the context of judgment and that stems from a very strong statement in vs. 1 that we have no excuse when we judge others.  Judging others is an interesting topic.   

Consistently when Jesus commands us not to judge others (Matthew 7:1-6), he doesn’t say flatly: don’t judge.  Rather, he says we are not to judge, otherwise we will be judged with the same judgement.  The same happens with the adulterous woman.  When she is brought into the square to be stoned Jesus says whoever is without sin can throw the first stone.  So once again reinforcing that judgment comes only when we are not guilty of the sin against which we are judging.  We must take the log out of our own eye before we take out the miniscule splinter.  But having said that, Jesus does not say: Do not judge.   Period.   

Every single day we make judgments.  We have to in order to survive.  We evaluate what is good for us and what is bad.  We make decisions and judgments based on all sorts of input and analysis.  You cannot go through life without judging, without placing value and importance on some things and less value on others.  It is what we do when we make decisions.  When we make decisions in regards to people, then Jesus gives us a whole separate framework under which to work.  The framework comes from the thought that we are all made with the same clay/dirt/muck and mire that was on the ground on that 6th day of creation.  God did not make some from special mud and others from the mud that he got on the discount shelf.  We are all judged by God the same…we are sinners who have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb.

With that in mind then we can judge others if we take inventory of our lives and see the sin of our lives and address it.  I think what we will find is that as we address our own sin, the sins of others tend to get murkier and murkier until we find ourselves so engrossed in making ourselves right before God that we forget the sins that we were “outing” in others.  In the legendary words of Dire Straits…”When you point your finger cos your plan fell through
You got three more fingers pointing back at you.”  If you want to hear the song…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adz7yCXZG18

Nuff said, I’ve always wanted to end a blog with the lyrics of Dire Straits.

Paul’s letter to the church in Rome has traditionally been thought  that it was written while he was visiting the town of Corinth.  Go back to Acts 20:3 and we see that he spends three months in Corinth before he heads back to Jerusalem.  This matches up with what he says in Romans 16:23 where Erastus was living in Corinth.  The timing of the writing is thought to be around 55 AD.  Romans is considered by far the most important theological writing in all of Scripture.  It is called the magnus opus (or masterpiece) of Paul and stresses the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ, the Messiah.  Our faith, our belief system, our understanding of who God is has been radically shaped by this book of the Bible.  It also contains some moralistic teachings which allow us to follow some of the dos and donts of Scripture.  The first chapter does not shy away from addressing some of the most controversial topics that our society faces today.  Let’s go ahead and tackle this crucially important letter in the Bible.

Just one more reminder and point of interest.  So, unlike the Acts of the Apostles which was written to give an accounting, as Luke states, of all that Jesus said and did and what the apostles who followed him did as well.  This book of the Bible, however, is not an accounting of what has taken place, but rather a personal letter from a spiritual father, Paul, to a congregation in a specific city. This city happened to be Rome.  I think I have expressed before that Rome is my absolute favorite place in the entire world.  I love that city.  I grew up in Rome and lived there and went to public schooling in the Monteverde section until I was 8.  I ran the 7 hills of Rome and they were my backyard, so when we read about events that take place in that city, I know them well.  So the community to whom Paul is writing, to me at least, sounds personal.  He loves the community and has heard about them, although he has not had the chance, at this writing at least, to visit the community.  So in this letter he addresses the most important theological stances that had to be taken.  Let’s get started.

Paul begins his letter to this community that he has never met by laying out his pedigree and his qualifications.  Surprisingly, he calls himself an apostle.  We had discussed previously how apostles often just pertains to the 12 + 1 disciples that followed Jesus while he was on the earth.  The +1 is Matthias who was chosen by lot after Judas was no longer in the picture.  But historically Paul is also considered an Apostle because he saw the Lord Jesus and was spoken to by him on the road to Damascus.  The qualification to be an apostles is that you must have been chosen  apart by Jesus to be his follower, and then later on have taken on some leadership role in the church.  The whole concept of Apostolic succession is foreign to us as Presbyterians, but if we did actually believe it then Paul would count as an apostle.  So, he lays out his qualifications by saying that he is an apostle, a servant first of Jesus Christ, and set apart to be the one who would proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or the good news.  Those are his qualifications and I’m guessing that anyone hearing this letter read to them in the midst of a congregation in Rome in the first century would say: “Let me hear more of what this Paul has to say.”

One more note about Rome.  It had, and still does to this day, a very influential and important Jewish community.  It is not surprising that the Gospel took root in a place where there was such a strong Jewish presence.  Notice in his greeting he lifts up the gentiles as crucial to the advancement of the Gospel.  He greets all the beloved who are called to be saints in Rome.  What a great greeting.  And then he gives a formulaic address which contains: Grace and Peace.  Paul loves the community in Rome. That is fairly obvious.  Their faith is proclaimed throughout the world.  That means that they must be well known throughout this fledgling Christian community.  He speaks about Rome as this eclectic city that contains both the wise and the foolish, the Greek and the barbarians (that’s an unfortunate juxtaposition which implies that anyone who is not a Greek must be a barbarian).  

Vs. 16 is a memory verse that in VBS we must have memorized at one time or another.  Listen to it again: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.  It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.”  I am not ashamed of the Gospel.  Unfortunately, this rallying cry seems to have been monopolized by all those living within the United States who feel as if our Christian privileges ought to be maintained at all cost.  I have heard countless times those who say that we cannot be ashamed of the Gospel and what they really mean is that we have to have prayer back in school, not allow prayers of other religions in public, and a whole assortment of cultural status symbols that we have seen slip away over time.  It is important to understand that when Paul wrote the  Roman government was in charge and they worshipped idols.  When Paul says don’t be ashamed he said it not for Christians to maintain their privileges but rather to Christians who were facing life and death situations.  Our shame of the Gospel probably reveals itself when we choose our commodities over our need to be servants to those in need on our doorstep.  We are ashamed often to trust that God will provide so we hoard until those around us have less.  If we are righteous, says Paul, then we will live by faith.  Living by faith is something that Christians of the 1st century implicitly understood.  Less so for those of us living in the 21st century in a country that does not overtly worship idols.

Vss.18-24 are fundamental verses to understanding what we believe in regards to the age old question: “What if someone never hears about Jesus, can they be saved?”  Paul says that creation itself reveals the presence and the power of God.  As Paul states, they are without excuse.  So I guess that means that none of us has an excuse as to whether we are disciples of Jesus or otherwise.  Even if we do not hear about the saving power of Jesus, we can still honor, respect, and obey God as exhibited in creation.  Paul has very, very harsh words for those who worship idols.  But this shouldn’t surprise us.  From the very beginning the people of God were told to worship a God that hands, our hands, could not make.  And now, in these next verses, from 24 and following, we get ourselves into trouble.

Before you see what comes next I encourage you to look at the letter that our session posted, a little over two years ago.  Today when the headlines contain the apology of the Pope for those who are gay and have been mistreated (I beat him to that apology, listen to the beginning of this: http://www.straspres.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Sermon-June-19-2016.mp3), it may seem poor timing to address the issue of homosexuality.  I can only say that we have to address the Scripture as it comes to us.  Please read this letter that the session – http://www.straspres.org/session-letter wrote.

The question remains between the two camps within the Christian faith: Is homosexuality a sin?  I take the stance that it is, but let me clear, it is a sin of no greater importance than the greed that I have in not selling all that I have and giving it to the poor.  Our society, and in greater measure our Christian religion and those who would call themselves Christian (who happen, by the way, to be the same people who bemoan the loss of power and privilege that the church used to enjoy) would like to lift up homosexuality as a sin that is a sort of trump card.  It is far more important than any other.

There are other Christians who simply do not believe that homosexuality is a sin.  They see it as something blessed by God.  As I have stated in the past and I will state here, I disagree.  I simply cannot overlook the vast body of Scripture which consistently calls homosexuality a sin.  In vs.27 Paul addresses the issue directly and calls a natural relationship as being between a man and a woman.  This is my position as well.  God made man for woman and vice versa.  It is a natural relationship.  You see how it all ties into the beginning of the chapter when Paul speaks about knowing God through what He has made, or through nature.  This is part of the order which God has created.  One more statement, I hope, of clarity.  I do not, however, believe it is a salvation issue.  If anyone is reading this and thinks they are better than “those gays”, let me tell you, you are already far, far behind where God wants you to be.  I think I warned you that these 90 days would be a little more challenging than the last.  But that’s Paul.

So I guess the two alternatives are either Paul is a murderer with whom God is catching up, or he is a god himself.  That seems to be the only two choices that the natives of Malta are able to consider.  Look at vs. 4 and vs. 6. and you see the gradual evolution of this thought.  Paul was an anomaly to those living in Malta.  Here was someone that the ocean just offered up to them, and he is handling snakes.  If you look at Mark 16:18 or Luke 10:19 you find Scriptures where Jesus after his resurrection sends out his disciples with power to do all things, including handling snakes.  Okay, we aren’t going to go there, but if you needed a biblical precedent, here it is.  Remember, the Bible does not say that we should try to pick up snakes and see if they will bite us, I call that tempting the Lord.

Paul becomes a big crowd pleaser and the natives send him off with all sorts of goodies and care packages.  Then on to Rome.  In Rome one of the places that I take all of the groups that I lead, from mission groups to tourist groups, we always stop by the Mamertine prison which according to legend is where both Peter and Paul were incarcerated.  Here is a picture of it:

But I’m confused.  According to chapter 28 Paul didn’t stay in a “prison”.  If you look at vs.16 we see that Paul was able to stay with the soldier who was guarding him, by himself.  Well, maybe it works.  It is also legend that Peter was incarcerated in this same prison before he was crucified upside down.  

As a prisoner Paul wasted no time in calling together the Jewish community together so that he could share with them the good news of Jesus.  He does that and appropriately the book of Acts ends with Paul telling all who were gathered that even the gentiles have been given the green light to salvation.  This was the consistent theme which was  debated and throughout this book of the Bible, and it is one that once and for is put to rest.  Yes, Jesus did come for everyone, and I mean everyone. 

Here is a link to a youtube video about the life of Paul that Sally Reinhart highly recommends.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15584195d37172a3?projector=1

What a trip!  You can tell from the very beginning of this chapter that things aren’t alway going to go as planned.  But from the very beginning, starting at vs.10 where Paul discourages the ship from setting sail, he gives insight as to what is going to happen on the journey.  Those in charge do not pay attention to the point of almost jeopardizing the entire journey along with the ship and the people on board.  You can find the different times when Paul gives his insight starting at vs. 10, vs. 31,  vs. 33.  Keep in mind that he is a prisoner and so why would they listen to him?  They don’t listen to him in vs.10 and they pay for it.  The commander of the ship does listen to him in vs.31 and so the lives are saved.  

I do want to focus on what Paul does in vs.33-38.  When you read this what did you hear?  Did you see Jesus and his disciples at the last supper?  Look at the words that the Scripture uses.  Paul took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and they ate.  Does it sound at all like: Matthew 26:26  ^“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.””   Luke 22:9 says this: “Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them.”  Mark 14:22 says the following: “While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them.”  Even the Scripture that I prefer using on communion Sundays we find Paul says this in I Corinthians 11:23-24: “the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it.”

There is definitely a formula that Paul buys into in these verses.  Those four steps happen in all of them: taking bread, giving thanks, breaking it, and distributing it.  Our Book of Order, which is part of our constitution in the Presbyterian Church (USA), states that those who have been baptized are welcome to take part in the Lord’s Supper.  But who takes part in this supper that Paul gives to those present?  We have a scene where over 276 people are on board.  I can assure you that they were not all baptized.  I would guarantee you that less than 10% were baptized but it didn’t cause a theological dilemma for Paul.  He served the meal and whoever was moved to see the presence of the Lord in that act would be able to take advantage of the situation.  I’m wondering if we need to more closely examine what we believe about the Lord’s Supper.  We don’t have to change a thing about what we believe in the presence of Jesus, he is present in the Lord’s supper, but rather who is welcome to receive it.  All of us prisoners/sinners should be able to advance to the table.

I’ve had a common misconception that if Paul had not appealed to the emperor then he could have been freed and he would have been fine.  We see that alluded to by Agrippa at the very end of chapter 26 in vs.32.  But the problem was not that the Romans were going after him, but rather that there were 40 sworn men who were determined to take Paul’s life.  You can find them again in Acts 23:12.  They were already twice foiled in their plot to ambush Paul, and any opportunity that might arise they would be sure to take.  If Rome had not protected him in their prisons then he surely would have died at the hands of the Jewish mobs riled up by the chief priest and his lackeys.  So no, Paul would not have been okay if he had just kept quiet and not appealed to the emperor, in spite of what Agrippa says in these verses.

I love Paul’s unabashed attempt to bring the Gospel to Agrippa, and Festus, and Berenice.  It becomes obvious to all gathered that he was trying to win them over to his side.  Listen to what he says in vs.26-27: “Indeed the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner.  King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?  I know that you believe.”  Agrippa calls him on it and Paul responds right back with saying: “How I wish you were just like me.”  Paul understood what it meant to be exposed to Jesus and to his teachings and turn your back on it.  He knew what it meant to “kick against the goads”.  What does that mean?

When Paul recounts the story of his conversion he speaks about how he had consistently been the one who gathered the names and persecuted the Christians more than anyone else.  He was probably present when Jesus taught and when he was killed.  No matter what we say, any exposure to Jesus would be sure to put a seed of thought in your mind that his words weren’t necessarily so crazy after all.  But he continued to carry out his duty and to live his life as a righteous Pharisee…until Damascus.

“Why do you kick against the goads.”  The goads were sharp pointed sticks that were used to ensure that animals behaved.  The more the animals kicked against the sticks the more painful it would be.  The term: “goad someone on” comes from this usage where a person is cajoled to go in a certain direction, hopefully not with pointy sticks.  But Paul had been tapped to be a leader within the Christian community but it took him a long time to respond to the guidance.  He fought Jesus’ presence and he kicked against anything which might turn him to follow him and to love him.  Until Jesus spoke to him directly.

I am sure we have all had times when we have kicked against the goads.  There have been times when we have simply decided that God’s way is not the way that we are going to take, either because we have too much to lose, or the alternative is too compelling.  In the end, however, we will find out that it is much more painful to resist God’s desires in our lives, than to pursue our own wishes.  This Scripture is a great reminder that God is going to eventually win us over, it is just a matter of when.  On their way out, if nothing else, the three people of power, Festus, Agrippa and Berenice all realize that he was innocent.  But off to Rome for Paul.