Thursday, January 15, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Acts 24-25
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 7
Key Verse
Acts 25:1 — “Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem.”
Devotional Thought
What do you do when you have told the truth and no one with power wants to hear it? Paul stands in the hall at Caesarea, and the machinery of human judgment grinds around him. Tertullus, a hired orator, flatters Governor Felix with talk of “great quietness” and “worthy deeds” before twisting Paul into a “pestilent fellow” and a “ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” Ananias the high priest and the elders nod their assent. The charges are loud and the proof is thin. Paul answers calmly: he came to Jerusalem to worship, they found him neither disputing nor raising a crowd, and his accusers cannot prove what they allege. His one offense, he says, is hope in the resurrection of the dead.
Watch Felix. He has “more perfect knowledge of that way,” yet he defers, hoping for a bribe, and leaves Paul bound two full years to please the crowd. Then Festus arrives, and the same trial replays with the same outcome: many grievous complaints “which they could not prove.” Paul, seeing that Festus would hand him over to please the Jews, appeals to Caesar. Even Festus admits to Agrippa that Paul “hath committed nothing worthy of death.” The wheels turn slowly; justice is delayed, and Paul remains a prisoner though innocent.
Psalm 7 gives words to this exact situation. David cries, “O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust,” and asks God to arise for “the judgment that thou hast commanded.” He is willing to be judged if he has done wrong, but he asks God to establish the just, for “the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.” Then comes the quiet confidence: the wicked dig a pit and fall into their own ditch; their mischief returns upon their own head. Paul did not need to avenge himself. He committed his case to the Judge who tries hearts, not merely appearances.
In mid-January, when resolutions have already begun to fray, we often feel the gap between what is fair and what is real. Perhaps you have been misrepresented at work, misunderstood in your family, or quietly passed over while someone louder took the credit. Acts 24–25 does not promise that earthly courts will always get it right; Felix and Festus did not. It promises something better: God sees the whole record. Our part is Paul’s part—a conscience “void to offence toward God, and toward men,” honest speech, and trust placed in the Judge who never defers for a bribe. Leave the verdict with Him.
Reflection
- When you are falsely accused or unfairly treated, do you tend to seize the verdict for yourself, or can you entrust your case to the God who “trieth the hearts and reins”?
- Felix trembled at Paul’s reasoning about righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, yet sent him away for “a convenient season.” Is there a conviction you have postponed that God is inviting you to face today?
Prayer
O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust. Thou art the Judge who trieth the hearts and reins, and nothing hidden is concealed from thee. When accusations rise and no earthly court will hear me, be thou my defence, as thou wast Paul’s in the hall at Caesarea. Keep my conscience void of offence toward thee and toward men. Give me grace to speak truth plainly and to leave the verdict in thy hands, knowing that mischief returns upon the head of the wicked and that thou establishest the just. Awake for me, O Lord, and let me praise thy righteousness this day. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 7:1 — “O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:”