Scripture
Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me.
~Romans 15:30
Quote
Strength is for service, not for status. We all need to take a good look at those around us and ask, “What can I do to help?”
~Apostle Paul
I cannot read through the book of Acts without meditating on Paul’s intense struggle. He is without question, the leading figure in the MISSION MOVEMENT. Paul is not needed in Jerusalem nor is he wanted. But getting the Jewishness out of Paul would be like getting the Southern out of Jack. Paul had absolutely nothing to do with the church in Rome. It became a reality before Paul became a believer but it was such an incredible story, Paul wanted to visit them and he had planned to do so on the way to Spain {uttermost parts in those days}. In Romans Chapter 15, Paul makes an appeal: he asks the Roman Christians to pray for him and he give them a list of request. [1] Pray that he would be delivered from the jaws of the lion {the hatred and contempt of the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem}. [2] That the benevolent offering he was bringing would be accepted in the spirit in which is was given and [3] Paul would be on his way to Spain once the offering had been delivered.
Ironically, none of these prayers were answered. Paul fell into the jaws of the lion; James and the church took the offering and then betrayed Paul my asking him to fulfill a Jewish rite that Christ had made irrelevant. Christians do not need Judaism plus Christ, all we need is Jesus and thirdly, he didn’t get to go to Spain, he went instead to Rome in chains. I know, God made good come from this bad situation which is what He does.
We are all disliked by someone or some group. Paul never did anything to the Jerusalem church to warrant their contempt for him but I’m telling you they had a much higher regard for Peter than they did Paul. No all night prayer meetings for Paul. No intervention whatsoever, not even a feeble attempt. No ministry to him by the First Church of Jerusalem after his arrest. You would think that at least he would get a visit from the pastor or a love offering. He got nothing! It is really a sad and unbelievable story.
God did bring good out of it; the government paid Paul’s expenses to Rome and he never longs for Jerusalem, the temple or attendance of any outdated Jewish festivals again. This experience put Paul over the top and from this point on, it was ALL JESUS.
One other thing: Paul’s pride and stubbornness is what did him in. Luke and friends begged him not to go to Jerusalem. They knew what Paul would not admit to himself–he was not loved in Jerusalem. We can’t make people love us. Accept your rejection, it is a part of your fellowship with Christ.
I thought with the shut-down and the extra time {time I usually spend visiting hospitals and nursing homes} that I would get caught up on my home projects but that has not been the case. The more I do, the more there is to do but we are making a little progress.
Our corn patch in Lawrence County looks good. It is a grace corn field; Joe planted it and furnished the seed and Ken sprayed it. So far, all I have done is watch it grow. Goes to prove, good friends are worth more than money.
We had a VBS planning meeting last night and LORD willing we are going with our original date of June 7-10. We start on Sunday morning June 7 and go through Wednesday night June 10. Josh is writing our curriculum. Our VBS will be a take from children’s films: Super Hero Sunday, and I forgot Monday. Tuesday is Toy Story and Wednesday is Water Wednesday. Only our worship time will be inside. Bible study will be under a tent and refreshments at the pavilion.
We will be doing drive in church on Sunday morning through May. Our first Sunday inside will be June 7th. Our mid-week moved inside last night with an attendance of 18 praise the LORD.
We have movie night FRIDAY NIGHT at 7:00. Can’t remember the name of the movie. Free pop corn and drinks. Rest rooms will be open.
God bless you. I hope you have a great day. Thanks again for reading the blog.