Saturday 15, August 2026

What do we do when we realise that someone made a fool of us? It’s not an easy pill to swallow, especially if we started the fight. There’s often a lot at stake, especially our pride. But it’s worse when we haven’t realised that we’ve set ourselves up. Siblings, if our contention with someone is due to God’s presence in their lives, we’re fooling ourselves. We will not win. So actually, we’re not being made fools of by others; we’re doing it to ourselves. Not quite sure if that’s possible? Consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Acts 5:25-26 CEVDCI

[25] Just then someone came in and said, “Now those men you put in jail are in the temple, teaching the people!”

[26] The captain went with some of the temple police and brought the apostles back. But they did not use force. They were afraid that the people might start throwing stones at them.

Irrefutable Proof

What he and the chief priest had been told sounded ludicrous. The imprisoned persons could not have escaped and gotten to the temple unseen. This time, the captain of the temple guard didn’t send someone. He fact-checked for himself. The facts did not change – the believers were very visibly in the temple. They were preaching, as if they’d never been jailed. Was it turf war? Was it civil, rather, religious disobedience? Whatever it was, the apostles were in the temple chief’s domain as if authorised to be there. The captain and his team must have been infuriated.

Self-Check

When someone deliberately denies our authority to do their own thing, despite being warned, what’s our first emotion?

Digging Deeper

The captain of the temple guard was a public official. He was known to several people in the temple. In fact, there might even have been some distinguishing aspects of his dress to that effect. The temple was a public space. It was daytime. His initial action would be public. Public opinion mattered to a public official.

He strategically decided to take the apostles for questioning – without force.

We live in a world where public figures do not always operate as if the court of public opinion matters. It is as if they have failed to learn from history. They also have irrefutable proof that armed force against what they consider criminal behaviour is unjust. Yet they persist. Presently, it seems as if they are succeeding in discouraging ‘criminal’ behaviour.

To some extent, it works. But not in all cases. And where injustice prevails, it is being exposed. It might not be totally eradicated, but it is exposed.

We may find ourselves caught in the crosshairs of such issues. We might be the public official called on to uphold the interests of those in power. Let us remember, as a public official, we are to serve the public with justice. We can’t be self-serving in these times. Moreover, we are accountable firstly to God, not humans. God honours justice, not brute force. It would suit us to serve God’s interests above all else.

If we are the ones facing persecution for our faith, remember Christ has prepared us for this in Matthew 5. I pray for our boldness, and for angels to offer us irrefutable proof that God is in control, Y’shua is Lord, and we are not alone. I pray victory in Christ as those who attempt to subjugate us are thwarted by Y’shua’s intervention. May God’s Spirit quicken the hearts of others to remain steadfast in prayer, as this situation is transformed.

Intervene even now, dear Lord. Amen

Point to Ponder

Are there situations that we know of where the ‘captain of the temple guard’ needs to experience God’s mysterious ways? Let’s pray and act for yokes of injustice to be broken.

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May all we seek be found in Christ