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 Acts 26:24-32: The logic of faith.

^“24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defence. ‘You are out of your mind, Paul!’ he shouted. ‘Your great learning is driving you insane.’  ²⁵ ‘I am not insane, most excellent Festus,’ Paul replied. ‘What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶ The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.’  ²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’  ²⁹ Paul replied, ‘Short time or long – I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.’  ³⁰ The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. ³¹ After they left the room, they began saying to one another, ‘This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.’  ³² Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.’ ” NIV UK

The outcome of this interview could not change the fact that Paul had appealed to Caesar, so his case was out of Festus’ hands. Nevertheless, the key players in the scene had to agree that Paul was innocent. We must not miss the point, though, that Paul was going to Rome because it was the will of Jesus (Acts 23:11).  Although Festus could see that Paul was innocent, it didn’t prevent him from feeling that the apostle had ‘a screw loose’ (24); and Paul has not been the only Christian to be so accused through the centuries. Yet there is a logic to the Christian faith. There is solid evidence for it. You don’t have to commit intellectual suicide in order to be converted. Christian faith is reasonable, intelligent faith, and we are surely right to follow in Paul’s footsteps and ask people to consider this.  Paul could appeal to Agrippa’s knowledge of the Old Testament. There is something powerfully persuasive in seeing how numerous prophecies have been fulfilled in the life of this one Man, Jesus.He could also appeal to the fact that in his day there were thousands of people who knew about Jesus and what had happened to Him: ‘’it was not done in a corner’’ (26).

Some people, when challenged about their personal response to the gospel, evade the question, and come back with an insult, or a joke, or a red-herring, and so on. Agrippa tried his hand at mild humour. He didn’t answer Paul’s question, but he had a jocular one of his own: ‘’Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’’ (28).  Without joking, Paul effectively said, ‘Yes.’ His prayer for Agrippa, and everyone else in that room was for them to be converted (29). Prayer and evangelism go hand in hand. Let’s ensure they are ‘married’ in our experience.

PRAYER: Lord, I see that Paul was unashamedly sure of his ground. Thank you that I can be too

Acts 26:16-23: Eye-opener.

“16 “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” 19 ‘So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen – 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.’NIV UK

Paul’s ministry was supernaturally empowered.

God never calls without also equipping. It is good for us that it should be so, otherwise we would never get the job done.

This was Paul’s primary assignment:

‘’…to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’’

Paul’s mission would require miraculous power. He had to go and preach, but if God was not at work through him, no lives would ever be changed.

In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul presents the big problem for all who preach Jesus Christ as Lord: ’The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.’’ As he goes on to say, it takes God shining His light in these darkened hearts to give ‘’…the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’’ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
So how important it was for Paul to be able to say:

‘’But I have had God’s help to this very day…’’ (22).

Paul’s ministry was also Scripturally based.
He argued that, like his opponents, he fully believed the Old Testament. The essential facts about Jesus were in there all along – for those who had eyes to see (22, 23).
Paul’s ministry was Sovereignly directed.
‘We must not disobey the heavenly visions that visit us. When Paul in his dream beheld the beckoning Macedonian, he made a straight course for Europe. Sometimes, in obeying, the first appearances are discouraging, as when the missionaries on landing at Philippi met only a few women beside the little river, but the final results will justify the first stepping-out of faith.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional commentary’, p.500.

PRAYER: Please help me, dear Lord, to energetically pursue my calling, trusting fully in your power to bring about the changes I could never make happen.

Acts 26:12-14: Persecuting Jesus.

^“12 ‘On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³ About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” NIV UK

Don’t miss the point in these familiar words that what you do to a Christian, you do to Christ; what you do the church, you do to Jesus; what you do to the body you do to the Head. The Head of the church and the church are one. You can’t hurt God’s people without also hurting Him. In all our afflictions He is afflicted.  ‘’Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’’ (14). Paul could have argued that it was the church he was targeting, but in his heart he knew that he was motivated by deep hatred for the name of Jesus. He was guilty as charged.  Jesus Himself taught: ‘’I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me…’’ And again: ‘’I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’’ (Matthew 25:40,45).

In the book of Hebrews 6:10 you also come across these wonderful words: ‘’God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.’’  So how we treat the church is how we treat Jesus Himself. We can bring joy to his heart or cause Him pain. What opportunities we have today, and what responsibilities we carry. May God Himself help us.

‘’Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins’’ (James 4:16).

PRAYER: Help me Lord to love and serve you today as I meet you in your people.

Acts 26:1-11: Nothing impossible for God.

“Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You have permission to speak for yourself.’  So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defence: ² ‘King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defence against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.  ⁴ ‘The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee. ⁶ And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. ⁷ This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. ⁸ Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?  ⁹       ‘I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.”NIV UK

Festus had said to King Agrippa that Paul’s enemies did not charge him with any of the crimes he had expected: ‘’Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive’’ (25:19).  Over and against that comment, consider Paul’s words to Agrippa: ‘’Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?’ (26:8).  I would want to ask a similar question to any theologian (or anyone else for that matter) who denies the miraculous. If there is a God, surely He can do things ordinary human beings can’t? This includes converting people who are militantly opposed to Christianity. We shouldn’t be surprised to hear many such ‘’darkness to light’’ (18) stories if God is living and active.  As far as Saul of Tarsus was concerned, he was just being true to his Jewish faith in his pre-conversion days. He had seen it as an obligation ‘’to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth’’ (9) However, between the lines we can hear the message that he had come to find the real fulfillment of all Jewish Messianic hope in the Person of the living Lord Jesus. So, as Tom Wright points out, although there was an obvious ‘break’ between the pre-conversion Saul, and the post-conversion Paul, at the same time there was a strong line of continuity forming a bridge between the two. Paul knew all about Judaism from the inside, and he was aware that the hope which lay in its bosom formed the link to who he had now become. Pharisees believed in resurrection; but he had now come to see that it had to first happen to Jesus before becoming anyone else’s experience.  ‘His message about resurrection – (a) that it is what we were all waiting for, and (b) that it has happened, to our enormous surprise, in Jesus – is at the heart of his claim that this changes everything at the same moment as fulfilling everything.’ Tom Wright: ‘Acts for everyone, part two,’ p.207.

Acts 25: 13-27: ‘Man Alive.’

^“13 A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. ¹⁴ Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: ‘There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. ¹⁵ When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.  ¹⁶ ‘I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. ¹⁷ When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. ¹⁸ When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹ Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus whom Paul claimed was alive. ²⁰ I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. ²¹ But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.’  ²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear this man myself.’  He replied, ‘Tomorrow you will hear him.’  ²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Festus said: ‘King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. ²⁶ But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. ²⁷ For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.’” NIV UK

King Agrippa was the son of the King Herod mentioned in chapter 12. He was also the brother of Drusilla, the wife of Felix (24:24). The Roman Emperor had given to him a small kingdom. It included the southern part of modern day Lebanon, and the province of Galilee. He ruled there under the emperor’s authority. Being a Jew himself, Agrippa knew a lot more about Jewish customs than Festus, so Festus took the opportunity to discuss the case with him.

Somebody said something like this, ‘If the resurrection of Christ has left a hole in history the size and shape of the empty tomb, with what does the secular historian propose to fill it?!’ That’s a good question.

Some years ago, Canon Michael Green wrote a brilliant book about the evidence for the resurrection. It was entitled ‘Man Alive.’ The nineteenth verse reveals how much Paul emphasised the resurrection of Christ, and we know this anyway from elsewhere in ‘Acts.’ As far as Paul was concerned, Jesus was no ‘dead man.’ He had met Him personally and his life was revolutionised in the encounter (26:12-18). Do dead men speak and hand out assignments? A man was asked, ‘How do you know Jesus is alive?’ He replied, ‘Oh, I was talking with Him only five minutes ago!’ We in the church today need to recover the thrill of realising that Jesus who died, and was buried, is now alive. Let it be our repeated refrain as it was for the apostle Paul: Christ is alive!

Today’s passage shows that although Felix, as a politician, cared most about his position and status (and he therefore wanted to please the Jews, as previously noted); he nevertheless knew that Paul was innocent. As with Jesus in the gospels, Paul’s lack of guilt is hammered home by the text. You can’t fail to see it.

Today, of these three main characters, Paul alone is famous. We only remember Agrippa and Festus because for a very short time they were with Paul. ‘’God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him’ (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

PRAYER: Let the truth that Christ is alive possess my heart and give me overflowing joy.

Acts 25:1-12: The saga continues.

“Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, ² where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. ³ They requested Festus, as a favour to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. ⁴ Festus answered, ‘Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. ⁵ Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.’  ⁶ After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. ⁷ When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood round him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.  ⁸ Then Paul made his defence: ‘I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.’  ⁹ Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favour, said to Paul, ‘Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?’  ¹⁰ Paul answered: ‘I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!’  ¹² After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: ‘You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!’ ” NIV UK

The passing of time, and a change of governor, did not diminish the hostility of the Jews towards Paul; and the change of governor did not increase Paul’s chance of having a fair hearing (9). He still had to contend with a politician who was more concerned with the opinion polls than integrity. It was important for these Roman governors to keep well in with the Jews. They knew they could be tricky, and you could swiftly lose your prized position if they turned against you and lodged a complaint. Festus was no fool. I’m sure he ‘smelled a rat’ (3-5). Yet when it came to it, he was prepared to hang Paul out to dry if necessary (9). If it came to a choice between Paul and Festus, Paul would be expendable. Thank God, we are not ultimately in any human hands, however it may appear.          Paul comes across here as a strong man. He was not rude or arrogant; but he was certainly not weak. He knew his rights and he stood his ground.

‘There are times when believers must use the law to protect themselves and the ministry. But now Festus had a problem. How could he send Paul to Caesar when he had no charges against him that could be proved? God’s people sometimes are treated like the guilty even though they are innocent. Remember Joseph, David, Daniel, and Jeremiah, not to mention our Lord Jesus Christ. In all that happened. God was fulfilling His promise to Paul that he would witness before rulers (9:15) and finally get to Rome (23:11). Being a prisoner and enduring the hearings were difficult for Paul, but he used his opportunities wisely. He believed Jesus’ words: ‘’But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony’’ (Luke 21:13).’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word,’ p.725

 Acts 24:22 – 27: A more convenient time?

^“22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. ‘When Lysias the commander comes,’ he said, ‘I will decide your case.’ ²³ He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.  ²⁴ Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, ‘That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.’ ²⁶ At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.  ²⁷ When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favour to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.” NIV UK

In the church circles in which I grew up, we often sang a hymn which was creatively based on this story. It was called ‘Almost persuaded’, and in one of its verses it reflects on the inclination to put off becoming a Christian until a more ‘’convenient’’ time. Many have found that such a postponed day does not arrive. You keep on revising the date until you eventually run out of time. Do take note that this can happen. I think many people do intend to get right with God – one day.

It’s been pointed out that, like Herod with John the Baptist, Felix had a fearful fascination with Paul and his message. Tom Wright says he engaged Paul in a game of ‘cat and mouse’ – now I’d like to see you, now go away; now I’d like to see you, now go away – but in the end he discovered that he himself was the frightened mouse. It is not surprising that a message of ‘’righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come’’ would scare a man like him. It had to be a challenge to his lifestyle. He had a lot to be afraid of if he didn’t repent; and he was no doubt fearful of a life marked by self-control if he did. It might seriously cramp his style.

Although the Bible doesn’t give us the details, it was well known to people at the time that Felix had been involved in a major scandal. It was in all the papers. (Well, it would have been, if they’d had them!! It was a story to occupy gossip column inches). Felix had lusted after another man’s wife, and taken her. Her name was ‘’Drusilla.’’ It’s obvious, too, from this story, that he was on the take. I’m not surprised that he couldn’t sit comfortably under Paul’s preaching.

A preacher once said that some people are ‘radiators’ – they give out warmth to all within their reach; but others are ‘drains’ – they suck up as much as they possibly can. Tom Wright is clear in identifying Felix as a ‘drain’. On the face of it, he didn’t treat Paul too badly. Although he was kept in prison, his friends were allowed to take care of his needs. (There was no such thing as a prison catering department. Without visitors to look after you, you would starve). However, Felix cared much more about his own position than he did about the apostle. Most of all, he hoped Paul would slip him a bribe (and he must have found some subtle way to convey to the preacher that he could be released if the price was right). This didn’t happen, of course, and so Felix used Paul to try to keep the Jews happy. He didn’t care about justice. It was all about him. It’s a sad and sordid little scenario really.

‘Actually, Felix was the prisoner, and Paul was the prosecutor. Felix knew he was guilty; but instead of accepting Christ, he delayed. The convenient time to be saved is now (2 Cor.6:1-2; see also Isa.55:6-7).’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’,p.725.

Acts 24:10-23: Setting the record straight.

^“10 When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: ‘I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defence. ¹¹ You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹² My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. ¹³ And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. ¹⁴ However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, ¹⁵ and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶ So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.  ¹⁷ ‘After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. ¹⁸ I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance. ¹⁹ But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me. ²⁰ Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin – ²¹ unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: “It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.”’ ²² Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. ‘When Lysias the commander comes,’ he said, ‘I will decide your case.’ ²³ He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.”NIV UK

As we saw yesterday, the charges brought against Paul, via the lawyer Tertullus, were patently false. We feel, as we read, that we want to stand up in court and say, ‘This is not right.’ When Paul got the opportunity to speak for himself, he was quick to point out that the facts of his conduct were easily verifiable if people wanted to know. He always sought to live with a clear conscience. However, what he would admit to (and he would confess it whatever the cost) was that he was a follower of Jesus and a member of the church. He was a true Jew. He believed everything his Jewish opponents believed, with one key difference. He was convinced that Jesus of Nazareth, once crucified but now risen from the dead, was the Messiah, the fulfillment of all Jewish hopes.           Christianity began as a ‘’sect’’ within Judaism. That’s how it was seen. In the early part of ‘Acts’ we find the followers of Jesus regularly participating in temple worship.They had no thought of separating from Judaism, but in the end persecution made the break inevitable.

It’s interesting that one of the earliest descriptions of believers was ‘followers of the Way.’ This was probably because they followed Jesus who asserted that He was ‘the Way’ (John 14:6). Also, they were committed to a recognisable way of life which had love at its heart. It is an unstoppable ‘Way’, though men have tried violently to stop it. Jesus ‘’the Way’’ was crucified and buried in a tomb. Then they put a ‘stopper’ in the hole; but they couldn’t stop Him!

One final thought from this passage: ‘Well would it be for us if only we would devote a few minutes at the close of each day to discover whether our conscience accused us of failure in heart, thought or behaviour. The Holy Spirit pleads in the court of conscience. We would be kept from many a fall if we would be more careful to watch against the little rifts.’ F.B.Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’,p.499

 Acts 24:1-9: Lawyer or liar?

“Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. ² When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: ‘We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. ³ Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. ⁴ But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.  ⁵ ‘We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect ⁶ and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. ⁸ By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.’ ⁹ The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.’ NIV UK

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying all legal people are dishonest. If I was, I would be lying. However, it is always shocking to see how a barrister may be hired to say things about a person that are very far removed from the truth. You listen to Tertullus’ speech with horror, saying to yourself, ‘This is not the Paul I know.’

It is clear that God hates injustice. The Old Testament prophetic books burn with His white hot indignation against the abuse of the court system, and the mistreatment of innocents. Yet we should not be surprised when Christians are treated unfairly. Jesus said, ‘’…no servant is greater than his master…’’ (John 16:13). A great travesty of justice lies at the heart of the Christian faith – in fact the greatest in history – and if that’s how our Lord was treated, can we expect to get off lightly?

Yet look at all the good God is still bringing out of that bad thing. So when we sniff the injustice in this story, we know it cannot be the whole story, and we find ourselves anticipating what God will do next.

PRAYER: O Lord, you are a God of justice, and although injustice may sometimes seem to win the day, thank you that ultimately right will triumph over wrong in your Universe. If we ever find ourselves treated unfairly because we are Christians, help us to patiently bear it, and entrust ourselves into your Hands for vindication.