At first glance, these encounters are part of a trial. Paul has been arrested, transported, and forced to “defend” himself before many different audiences. What I am inspired by is that Paul moves his defense to offense. He sees these occasions as opportunities to share the gospel.

Can’t you just feel the tension in that room? Paul started out by declaring his faithfulness to God, only to have the high priest order him struck in the mouth. Paul responded with a blazing criticism, not knowing he had just insulted the high priest. Paul gave a form of an apology, but then seemed to poke the Sanhedrin by bringing up the subject of the resurrection of the dead.

Godly, good friends are such a blessing. We can learn from them, be encouraged by them, and share in life together. Our friends can pray for us and speak into our lives in so many ways. It would be a difficult thing to journey through life without godly friends. 

People who merely touched Jesus’ cloak were healed. Here we see in startling display of the “greater things” mentioned yesterday. For it was merely Peter’s shadow that brought healing. In fact the early apostles performed many miracles recorded in Acts, but let's not forget why this was happening.

I remember once when my daughter said she wanted to be like me. All I thought was, you are already so much more than me! That is a relatively normal sentiment for a parent. We see our kids as stronger, faster, smarter, kinder, and more capable than we ever were. But how could Jesus say that His followers would do even greater things than He had done?!