Week 7, Day 5 (Acts 24:22-27)

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a frightening thing. This isn’t usually what you hear at church on Sunday mornings or at Bible studies, but it is the truth. The good news of the Kingdom of God is frightening because it has the power to convict, renew, and transform the lives of those who listen to it. This power, which makes the hearts and minds of people collapse in humility, comes from the fact that the Gospel is the Word of God—and God’s Word is power.

We see this power in the relationship between Paul and Governor Felix. Governor Felix was a powerful man who had been appointed by the Emperor of the Roman Empire. Yet we read in Acts that when Paul told him about faith in Christ Jesus “Felix was afraid and said, ‘That’s enough for now! You may leave.’” (Acts 24:25). Somewhere deep inside him, Governor Felix felt a presence or a feeling that what he was hearing was a truth and had power beyond what he could muster or withstand.

In the same way that Paul was ready to preach the goods news of Jesus to everyone he met, even in trials and tribulations, we are to be ready to fight the good fight. We should prepare ourselves spiritually and biblically to be strong and true ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, it is crucial to remember that the power to transform the lives of men and women doesn’t come from us—but it is God’s. We are but vessels and instruments of His message and it is His Holy Spirit that knocks at the door of individuals and offers them God’s Grace. Salvation is the Lord’s. Let us approach others with confidence that God has prepared us to do His will, but that in the end God leads the way.

I would like to finish this post with a story from my personal life. In the spring of 2008 I was finishing my freshman year of college at NCSU. Around this time I became friends with an ROTC cadet I will refer to as “Tony.” Tony had suffered a lot in the past year and the stress of college and ROTC had dealt a toll on his life. I found out that Tony was an atheist and was going through a lot of personal family hardships—this obviously didn’t help him focus on college and other life issues. One night, during December of 2008, Tony messaged me and asked me about Jesus. He told me that he respected me and wanted to know what I thought about Jesus. He went on to ask me my reasons for believing in God, Jesus, the Bible, and the saving and transforming power of the Gospel. Near the end of our conversation, Tony told me that he had never heard anybody talk about Jesus and God in the way that I had. At that moment I gave all glory to God and asked for God to use me to impact Tony’s life for His Glory.

I am joyous to say that Tony is today a God-fearing man and is currently working at a Christian summer camp in Alabama. When Tony asked my about Jesus, I don’t know if I was ready or not to defend Christ, but I spoke from the power of the Holy Spirit inside of me and today I can claim that God is faithful and never fails to use our deeds, big or small, for His glory. We don’t know if Governor Felix ever came to believe in Jesus, but if we believe that God has the power to transform the lives of men and women, there is no excuse not to declare His name in times of prosperity and in times of tribulation.

-Quauhtli Y. Olivieri Herrera