You’re in the Hall

No matter how reserved you are, if you’re alive, you’re being observed.

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Acts 23:35 – I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.

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If you are a child of God, you’re in a relationship with the Almighty.  If you’re a human being, your life is exposed to light at least some of the time.  If you shop, use community services, have ever paid taxes, drive, commute, work, attend a school or church, you are in the public eye.  That’s not just for those who hold public office or serve the public.  Somebody sees you; somebody hears you; somebody studies you; somebody uses you.  That, dear friend, is the estate of affairs in life today.  There are cameras everywhere; on the street, in businesses, banks, schools, churches, on private property for security.  And almost everyone has a cell phone, and almost all of them have HD cameras.  There is no way your life is hidden. 

When Paul was brought to Felix, this was a bold move on the part of the chief captain of the Roman guard in Jerusalem.  A plot was fomented against Paul to kill him, and the fomenters took an oath that they would not eat again until Paul was dead.  (It is my estimation that they broke the oath, or died very hungry.)  Paul being a Roman, such actions would not be tolerated.  Therefore, when Paul was brought before Felix in Caesarea, he would not be treated as some rank-and-file prisoner.  So, he was in Herod’s judgment hall, a magnificent group of buildings in which government actions were handled.  This was no ordinary structure, so it is evident that Paul was well-attended. 

My friend, as a child of God, you are of no ordinary culture or heritage.  You don’t belong to some nation’s government; you belong to God.  If you are living in your covenant, according to Deuteronomy, the world should be afraid of you.  The world in which you live, though they may despise you, the fact you belong to God carries influence wherever you go.  There is no need for you to fear.  You are the “head and not the tail.”  You are “above only and not beneath.”  “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.”  But whether you accept it or not, when you became a child of God, you found yourself in a kind of Herod’s judgment of the world in which you live.  You are being constantly observed.  People are watching; some to see now you act, others to see how you react, or respond.  People are watching; some hoping to see you fail, some hoping to see you succeed.  And even among those who want you to fail to make them look good and many who pray you won’t fail.  After all, they will need someone they can call to help them when their way won’t work, and only the way of God will.  So, like it or not, you’re in the hall of judgment.  Live well.

Manna for Today – Acts 23:23-35; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Isaiah 54:17