Unhindered

The last Greek word in the book of Acts is best translated into English as "unhindered".

Much of the latter part of the book of Acts is concerned with getting Paul to Rome. We know he's going - God promised him in Acts 23:11. So when we see Paul sitting in house arrest in Rome after a perilous journey and a side trip to Malta, we see much more than a man who achieved a goal. We see God's hand at work. We see His promise fulfilled. We see one more advance for the kingdom.

The Net Bible project includes this comment: "The word of God is proclaimed triumphantly and boldly in Rome. Acts ends with this note: Despite all the attempts to stop it, the message goes forth."

That's the heart of "unhindered", and that's the bottom line message we're left with in Acts. It begins with a commission - be God's witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth - and walks us through how that looked for the early church. We see Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, and we see God fulfilling a God-sized promise through the stuff of life. Through conversations overheard, favorable circumstances, ships with Greek deities ... God gets Paul to Rome. Paul is chained to a soldier - but the Gospel is unhindered.

Be encouraged tonight. Whatever you feel is holding you back from a dream or vision, whatever you think is a chain around you - be assured that the Gospel is unhindered. Like Paul, who converted some of his guards and wrote 4 books while chained, your very chains can become links to God's kingdom purposes.