Monday August 25, 2008 FRIENDS THAT DELIVER
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They thought he was only pretending to be a believer! Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus. Barnabas also told them what the Lord had said to Saul and how he boldly preached in the name of Jesus in Damascus. Then the apostles accepted Saul, and after that he was constantly with them in Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they plotted to murder him. When the believers heard about it, however, they took him to Caesarea and sent him on to his hometown of Tarsus. The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it grew in strength and numbers. The believers were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Acts 9:26-31 When I first accepted Jesus as my Savior, I didn't hesitate to go visit or call my friends and share about the transformation in my life. One of my drinking buddies got angry at me and refused to talk to me, but two months later she and her boyfriend were both saved. Then, there was a couple I once worked for that I told me my newfound salvation would only last six weeks. Yet, they didn't just stop with those words of discouragement; they went on to warn me to stay away from the writings of Paul because he was a woman hater. While one part of their proclamation was proven false, the other words they spoke planted a seed of distrust for Saul that was only uprooted about ten years ago. Saul was severely misunderstood by the religious leaders as well as believers in the beginning of his ministry. However, it only took one man looking at him through the eyes of faith to help him rise above these negative seeds being planted in his life. As a result, not only did Saul become Paul, but the Christian church was planted firmly in the lives of people whose faith was passed down to us. When these believers saw that Saul was being threatened they took it upon themselves to find a place of refuge for him, they were truly a church. In these last days there will be emotional and verbal persecution, and possibly even physical persecution from outside the church. Therefore, we need to be extra careful that we not fall into the trap of discouraging and persecuting one another. Instead, let us build one another up in His love. Father, I am truly thankful that You delivered Saul of Tarsus from his tyranny of persecution of the church. I am thankful that You delivered him from persecution by the church and that You retained his story and his letters to strengthen us today. Help each of us press on in loving service to You and to one another. May Your church be strengthened and You glorified. ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] window live messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
