verses read: Acts 27:13 - 28:30, Proverbs 10:24
prayer: 30 minutes
Finished the book of Acts. My readings have been getting longer and longer each day. Realise that once you settle in to some routine, you really find it easier to do. Will begin the book of Daniel tomorrow. It's one thing to read a narrative like Acts, and another to read an part narrative, part apocalyptic book like Daniel. Going to be a challenge actually. My aim is to at least finish chapters one to six by AnnTic.
Anyway, this final part of Acts is highly detailed. Reading it very slowly and reading the study notes at the same time does give a much greater insight to what goes on. And it's really amazing; the amount of detail put into the book. Paul is on a ship to Rome, what happens is that they are caught in a storm; and are shipwrecked. The manage to reach the island of Malta, and stay there during the winter (3 months) a before continuing on to Rome. When they finally reach Rome, Paul continues to preach even though he is under house arrest. And the final few verses, he quotes the prophet Isaiah and reasons that salvation is even for the gentiles. And he continues to preach for 2 years. The book of Acts ends abruptly at this point.
The central person in the book of Acts is the Holy Spirit. How the Holy Spirit guided the early Christians to spread the message of the Gospel. And how the Gospel was spread from the Jews, and to the gentiles. And even now, the Holy Spirit's work is still not done. The Gospel has yet to really reach the ends of the earth right now. And 2000 years on, we have inherited the duty (so to speak) of the apostles.
Ties in quite nicely to Charlie's message yesterday. Dreams, visions and prophecy; these will be common in the last days. And their purpose will be to proclaim the Good News to the world.
Yet Charlie touched on another aspect of dreams and visions, and how they relate to a person personally. There was a period last year, when I took 6 math modules, when I dreamt of math every night, and on some occasions, through my dreams I would actually see the solution to a problem I had been stuck with. And when I woke up, I would actually just complete the question. This actually happened a few times. Someone told me this was perhaps God's divine revelation to me, in time of need, when humanly, completing 6 math tutorials a week was an almost insurmountable task, somehow, I was able to do it.
Then I remember another dream. Not mine, but that of a friend. And it brings me hope; hope in what is to come. There are more tears to be shed, but happy ones not sad ones. Realised I've not dreamed in a while, asked God for a dream last night, but still didn't dream. (Or rather did not dream that significant a dream that I can remember it in the morning!) But God still provides; and He gave me more assurance to what I prayed before I slept last night in the form of this verse:
What the wicked dreads will overtake him; what the righteous desire will be granted. - Proverbs 10:24
Quite amazing actually!
