It's here: Part 9 of the 9 part series - how to get prayers answered
The Acts of The Apostles - D22
DAILY DEVOTIONAL
8/22/20262 min read
Turned Upside Down
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” (Acts 17:6, NKJV)
For three Sabbaths, Paul walks into the synagogue at Thessalonica and opens the Scriptures. His message is not about himself, his travels, or even the hardships he has endured. His message is Jesus. He reasons from the Word that the promised Christ had to suffer, die, and rise again, then makes the declaration everything rests upon: “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.”
And people believe.
That is when the city begins to stir. Some receive Jesus, while others respond with jealousy and resistance. A mob forms. Jason’s house is attacked. Believers are dragged before the authorities, and one accusation rises above the chaos: “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”
They thought Paul and Silas were turning the world upside down. In reality, Jesus was turning hearts right side up.
That is what happens when Christ enters a life. He confronts what we have accepted, rearranges what we have placed first, and calls us away from lives centered on ourselves. Jesus did not come merely to make us more comfortable with the lives we are already living. He came to make us new.
The question Acts 17 places before us is deeply personal: Has following Jesus changed anything about the way I live? If Christ is truly Lord, there should be places in our lives where His presence has disrupted the old rhythm. Priorities change. Desires change. Relationships change. The things we once excused become harder to hold onto because the closer we draw to Jesus, the more clearly we see what does not belong.
Paul and Silas were willing to enter another city knowing the gospel might cost them something because they had encountered a Savior worth everything. Their courage did not come from loving controversy. It came from loving Christ.
The world does not need Christians who simply blend into it. It needs followers of Jesus whose lives quietly but unmistakably testify that Christ is King. When Jesus truly becomes the center of a life, something begins to turn—and sometimes, what the world calls upside down is exactly what heaven calls right side up.
Ask God to show you one area of your life that has remained unchanged by your relationship with Jesus. Surrender it to Him today and invite Christ to become Lord there too.
Scripture Promise:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV)
Prayer:
Father, thank you for being the center of my joy. Anything that remains to be changed so that I am more like you, Lord, please perform it in my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Stay in Rhythm. Stay in Grace.
Join us for daily encouragement and growth.
Email US
© 2025. All rights reserved.