HOPES AND DREAMS

HOPES AND DREAMS

READ:
Acts 20:16-24

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.  -Acts 20:24

In 1960, everyone in the high school I attended participated in Project TALENT.  For several days, we took tests that surveyed our aptitudes in academic subjects.  In addition, we were asked to express our plans, hopes, and dreams for the future.  What we didn't know was that we were among 400,000 participants from 1,3000 schools in the largest study of high school students ever conducted in the US.  None of us involved in the study could have imagined how our lives would turn out.

The same was true for Saul of Tarsus.  As a young man, his goal was to destroy the followers of Jesus (Acts 7:58-8:3:  Galatians 1:13).  But after his conversion, he became the apostle Paul, whose mission was to multiply them.  As he journeyed to Jerusalem, facing prison and hardship, Paul said, "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace" (Acts 20:24 NIV).

When our goal is to honor the Lord, He guides and guards us each step of the way.  Whatever our hopes and dreams may be, when we place them in God's hands we know that everything, including setback or success, is under His control.  -David McCasland

When we give our hopes and dreams to God
And then leave them in His hand,
We can trust His love and care for us
To fulfill what He has planned. -Sper
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Live the Christian life in the same way you began it-
by trusting Christ.

INSIGHT

Paul felt compelled to go to Jerusalem (v.22), even though the Holy Spirit had warned him of the hardships that waited down that path (v.23).  This has caused some Bible scholars to speculate that Paul may have been outside God's will in going to Jerusalem.  Others point out a parallel to Christ setting His face toward Jerusalem despite the peril involved (Luke 9:51).

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace