Dave's Diary

Daily Reading: Acts 17:1-9

Key Verse:  “⁶ …They dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: ‘These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.’”

Paul and Silas’ Gospel-ministry in the synagogue of Thessalonica proved so successful that they managed to persuade a significant number of Jews, God-fearing Gentiles and some prominent women of the City that Jesus was the Messiah (God’s Anointed Saviour King). But another group from the synagogue proved so resistant to Paul and Silas’ reasoning that they responded in jealous anger and stirred up a mob to cause trouble for the apostles and the new Christians.

Today we notice that their most important accusation was that the Christians had “turned the whole world upside down” by their message that Jesus was King. Their accusations were motivated by jealousy and were aimed at stirring up trouble for the new Christians in a world where claiming that anyone except Caesar was king was regarded as treason. And yet those accusations were accurate. The heart of the Gospel is indeed that Jesus comes to us as King, and to truly accept His ministry we must enthrone Him as King of our lives, our families and our communities. When we enthrone Jesus as King, He certainly turns our world upside down. He radically transforms our character and our priorities, and our allegiance to Him transforms our behaviour and relationships.

Today this Scripture invites me to examine my own life and to assess the extent to which Jesus is actually enthroned as my King? Is He still turning my life upside down? Am I allowing Him to radically transform my priorities, aims, decision-making and behaviour? I invite you to do the same self-examination, and then let us come to a point of surrendering afresh to His rule and reign.

King Jesus, take Your rightful place on the throne of my life. Rule and reign in me. Transform me into Your image as a “citizen” of Your Kingdom. And help me to stand firm in my allegiance to You when those around me resist and want to squeeze me into the mould of this world’s kingdom. In Your Mighty Name I pray. Amen.