Acts 20:22-24 (NLT) “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

The Apostle Paul traveled all throughout Israel, Syria, Turkey, Greece, and Italy, spreading the good news of the Gospel wherever He went. He also established churches and set up leaders to lead them. After many years of doing that, Paul received instructions from the Lord to go to Jerusalem, even though much hardship and suffering would be waiting for him there. Many Christians, some of whom had the gift of prophesy, warned him of what they saw up ahead for him if he went to Jerusalem. But the Apostle Paul said that He was "bound by the Spirit" to go.

The Apostle Paul was so in tune with his mission and so determined to do what the Lord wanted him to do that he did not concern himself with what lied ahead, even if it meant that he would suffer. There was no turning in him. The Apostle Paul looked danger in the eye and saw it as of no consequence. The most important thing to him was doing what the Lord was instructing him to do and fulfilling his mission. His desire to accomplish God's will even superseded the regard for his own safety.

We are not currently living under the threat of danger as the Apostle Paul was and we also are not facing the obstacles that he faced. But the same spirit that Paul had must be what marks us if we are to do the work that God called us to do powerfully and effectively. Our mission here on earth is to live for Him and to do what He instructs us to do and to share the good news about Jesus everywhere. That mission should not take second place in our lives. I believe that many of our wanderings and failures in life are due to putting God and the mission that He gave us at the bottom of our priorities. Many Christians care more about the issues of this world than the issues of God's Kingdom. The Lord was clear in telling us that we should seek His Kingdom first, and then everything else would be added (Matthew 6:33). Let's get on mission and let's not let anything move us away from it so that at the end of our lives, we can say what the Apostle Paul said: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul was ready to receive his crown of righteousness from the Lord Jesus. Let's get on mission and be ready to receive ours as well.

Pastor Joey Vazquez