{"id":20031,"date":"2022-11-03T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion3-november-2022"},"modified":"2022-11-03T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T06:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-3-november-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-3-november-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion\u00a03 November 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
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inspiration in your inbox<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Thursday 3 November 2022  <\/span><\/strong> <\/p>\n

Acts 22:30 – 23:11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Since he wanted to find out what Paul was being accused of by the Jews, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire council to meet. He brought Paul down and had him stand before them.    While Paul was looking intently at the council he said, \u2018Brothers, up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God.\u2019  Then the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth.  At this Paul said to him, \u2018God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?\u2019  Those standing nearby said, \u2018Do you dare to insult God\u2019s high priest?\u2019  And Paul said, \u2018I did not realise, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, \u201cYou shall not speak evil of a leader of your people.\u201d\u2019 When Paul noticed that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he called out in the council, \u2018Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead.\u2019  When he said this, a dissension began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.  (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge all three.)  Then a great clamour arose, and certain scribes of the Pharisees\u2019 group stood up and contended, \u2018We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?\u2019  When the dissension became violent, the tribune, fearing that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered the soldiers to go down, take him by force, and bring him into the barracks. <\/span>That night the Lord stood near him and said, \u2018Keep up your courage! For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

You have to feel sorry for the Tribune really; his efforts at finding out what on earth the problem was with Paul wouldn\u2019t have been helped by the Sadducees and Pharisees rowing about theology!  The Sadducees were the elite, the people who ran things, the theological liberals of their day who didn\u2019t believe in the resurrection. Whereas the Pharisees did believe in the resurrection and were anxious to follow the Law.  Jesus\u2019 arguments with the Pharisees were often about Him calling them out for hypocrisy not theology.  <\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re tempted to have sympathy for the Tribune partly as we can see the funny side of a theological row dividing a council and stopping them making any decisions and partly because we live in an age which is indifferent to theology.  Political theory can be described, disparagingly, as \u201ctheological\u201d.  The union leader, Mick Lynch, wrong footed several interviewers with his grasp of politics which is more sharp than we\u2019re used to hearing – though times maybe changing as the current Prime Minister\u2019s pitch to her party was to return to more doctrinaire politics than we\u2019ve seen for some time.  <\/span><\/p>\n

How important are theological tenets to us as a church?  Years ago a speaker on a promotional URC video assured viewers that \u201cwe can believe what we like in the URC!\u201d  Which, of course, is nonsense.  What he might have meant is that we\u2019re a broad church with a range of views around a central core.  <\/span><\/p>\n

If you were asked to stress the central features of what you believe, what would you say?<\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Give us love, Eternal One,<\/span>
for Your truth.<\/span>
Give us grace, O Most High,<\/span>
to understand Your ways.<\/span>
Give us courage, O God of the Ages,<\/span>
to speak your word.<\/span>
Amen.<\/span> <\/p>\n

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Today’s writer<\/h2>\n

The Rev\u2019d Andy Braunston, Minister for Digital Worship, member of the Peedie Kirk URC in Orkney.<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright \u00a9 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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inspiration in your inbox Thursday 3 November 2022  Acts 22:30 – 23:11 Since he wanted to find out what Paul was being accused of by the Jews, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire council to meet. He brought Paul down and had him stand before them.    … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “URC Daily Devotion\u00a03 November 2022”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}