⁷ When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. ⁸ On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. ¹⁰After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ” ¹²  When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”  ¹⁵After this, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Manson, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.

 

Meditation

1. Believers in Caesarea pleaded Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but to no avail.  So, they said, “The Lord’s will be done.”  How would this prayer “The Lord’s will be done” explain who’s really in control of your life?.  Now, who’s in charge of your life?  Is God in his rightful place in your life, or is there another “god” seated on that throne?
2. On January 8, 1956, deep in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador, five missionaries were brutally murdered by a tribe of stone age Indians. The five young men sang this hymn “We Rest on Thee”as they went to their death, taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Auca Indians. Check out this remarkable story

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duqi9T6JOh0

We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,And needing more each day Thy grace to know:
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing, We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing, We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender! Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor, Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor, Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.

1. The five missionaries and their families knew that God was in charge of their lives.  Theirs is a life that lived out the prayer “The Lord’s will be done.”  After the murdering, the wives and other family members decided to stay to continue the missionary work left by their loved ones among these people.  A tragedy beyond comprehension, through love and forgiveness, has been transformed to an inspiring and moving story of miracles.  This link is a continuing story produced by one of the missionaries’ son, Steve Saint.  endofthespear.com/

 

Family Time (Begin this time by reading the passage above using a children’s Bible.)

Get yourself acquainted with the five missionaries’ story.  Decide if and how you are going to view one or both movies.  There is a lot of material to talk about even if you only view a portion of them: on trusting God, depending on God and obeying God at all cost, etc.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 14:19-21

¹⁹ The evil bow down before the good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous.  ²⁰ The poor is disliked even by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends.  ²¹ Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.