Picturepocket's Blog

Category: religion

  • Acts 25: Power Plays

    In this chapter, Festus shows up in Caesarea to take Governor Felix’s place, around AD 59. Immediately Paul’s accusers in Jerusalem use the arrival to request a new trial hoping for another ambush attempt. Festus doesn’t move Paul, but hears them out. Lacking evidence of their accusations, he questions Paul who lays out his defense.…

  • Acts 24: Justice Deferred

    In this chapter, Governor Felix of Caesarea holds Paul in jail until the high priest arrives with the elders and spokesman Tertullus, a Roman orator. The hired advocate speaks flattering words to the governor and accuses Paul of causing stirring up riots and promoting a sect of Nazarenes, because Jesus was from Nazareth. He claims…

  • Acts 23: 40 Angry Men

    In this chapter, the tribune, the local Roman authority named Claudius Lysias, brings together religious leaders including the Pharisees and Sadducees to converse with Paul and solve their conflict. Paul gets up and says he has lived his life before God in good conscience. Head priest Ananias demands someone hit Paul in the mouth for…

  • Acts 21: Trouble

    After Paul said goodbye to the Ephesian elders, he continued by boat across the Mediterranean sea back to the city of Tyre, in Syria, north of Jerusalem. He stayed with disciples there and they warned him not to go to Israel. Then he went to the house of Philip, one of the seven, who had…

  • Acts 16: Following the Spirit

    Paul goes to Derbe where he meets a young man named Timothy whose father was Greek and mother was a Jewish believer. Paul has him circumcised to be accepted by the Jewish community. This goes against what Peter has seen in his vision, yet the pressure from the other Jewish believers is strong. It shows…

  • Acts 14: More Missions

    Paul and Barnabas go to Iconium where the preach in the Jewish synagogues to both Jews and Gentiles. They had many people believe about Jesus but they also had their detractors. The detractors stirred up the leaders and Paul and Barnabas moved in to the next towns of Lystra and Derbe.  In Lystra, Paul saw…

  • Acts 8: Saul, Simon and The Spirit  

    With the stoning of Stephen, the gloves were off when it came to the burgeoning new church. The religious establishment were intent on crushing the beautiful new community of Jesus. Saul, a young Pharisee, entered private homes and dragged men and women off to prison. The believers scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Many of the…

  • Acts 5: Fakes & Faith

    In the chapter before, the community of believers lived idyllically with everyone sharing and no one having an unmet need among them. A man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a property and they kept a portion back and brought the rest and laid it at the feet of Peter. Peter calls him out…

  • Acts 4: Fame

    In this chapter, the Sadducees, the wealthy religious elite that don’t believe in resurrection, react to the healing of the man by the temple in the name of Jesus. They were “greatly annoyed” because they killed Jesus and now his obnoxious followers are going around doing and saying all the same things. They have Peter…

  • Acts 3: Better than Gold

    In this chapter Peter and John go to the temple and see a man begging. He has been lame from birth, and lives by asking for alms of those entering to worship. Peter asks him to look at them, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In…