August 23, 2010 – Acts 22:17 - 23:11

We see here and throughout why God would have chosen Paul. As a prominent member of the Jewish authority, not only would his conversion help convert others, but it also allowed him to speak with the Jewish authority when others might have been ignored. Also, we see that because he was a Roman citizen, he gets treated differently. God knew all this and knew what person he needed to fill a certain role at a certain time.

We also see how to distract an enemy when they are about to attack. It is similar to the idea of you enemy’s enemy is your friend. Paul sees two sides coming after him and distracts them by reminding them what they disagree on. In thinking about that and what I wrote about Friday and thinking of the Unity of all Christians, this appears to be Satin’s strategy. Whenever people may become more united he will plant in them the knowledge of all the things that they disagree on. They lose all focus on the majority of things they do agree on and become obsessed with those that they do not. We see it in the country since the unity of 9/11, we have become focused on our differences in political ideas so that we are a divided nation. Even in families, Satan will show a mother and father what their differences are so much so that they will lose sight of what brought them together in the first place. Here we see St. Paul use this method to escape a mob. Let us be mindful of Satan using the same tactic in our lives to drive us away from others by turning small disagreements into great divides.