And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 3 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. 4 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed 6 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. 8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. 10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”
15 After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.
For me it was Jerry. In high school he talked with me one day about my lack of hygiene. “You just can’t do that, Dave,” he said. He was the only one who had the courage to speak a word of truth that was challenging but needed to be spoken. I’ve had the opportunity to speak in the same way over the years. Whether to the man dying of cancer, or the young couple getting married in an out-of-the-biblical-order way. It takes courage to speak truth to power.
Sometimes it’s called giving the last 10 percent. The idea of the last 10% is that often we’ll tell someone 90% of what they need to hear. I’m not talking about the, “Do these clothes make me look fat?” kinds of questions. It’s more like telling an employee that he is underperforming with some detail. It may be sharing with your husband that his off-color jokes not only make you cringe, but that you saw his boss roll his eyes and shake his head when he told that joke at the party. A wife told her husband that she was concerned about his interactions with the officials at their daughter’s basketball game. It really hit home when she told him that it was her daughter who had said something. She wisely asked, “You don’t want your daughter to cringe every time she sees you come to her game, do you?”
You can have a huge impact in someone’s life when you share that last 10%.
It may not be quite the same, but I was reminded of this when I reflected on the message Agabus shared with Paul. Paul: large and in charge. Incredibly successful missionary. Former persecutor of Christians, now reformed and dedicated to serving the Lord Jesus. Imagine telling him that he was going to be bound in chains. And in such dramatic fashion!
In Paul’s case, the message was not intended to confront him, or call him to repentance. But it was a message that others needed to hear, along with Paul. This is an echo of what God told Ananias when he was sent to pray for Saul and restore his sight. “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name,” God said of Saul. Paul didn’t just lose his Hebrew name when he started his missionary work. He lost privilege, power, and prestige among his Jewish friends. But he has already said that he is willing even to die for the sake of Jesus. I suspect that Agabus’ message may have been more for the sake of Paul’s friends, and his brothers and sisters in Christ. These wounds may be painful for those people to endure. But they may be trusted – driving them to God for comfort, hope, and peace.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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