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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, April 21, 2024
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Christianity in its Infancy Bible Verse:Acts 11:25-30;13:1-3 (ESV) "So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. * * * Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. " Message:
The Acts of the Apostles contains the initial history of the church; how Christ’s disciples managed to spread the Word after his death. It is full of adventures, triumphs, and personal sacrifice.
The passage today sets itself in the reign of Claudius, who was (unwillingly) proclaimed the Emperor of Rome after the murder of the mad Caligula. Claudius would reign for 14 years and, although he was no friend of Christians — in fact, he ordered all followers of Christ to be expelled from Rome — the flamboyant Roman persecution and mass murder of Christians did not begin until after his death, when Nero became Emperor.
Early Christians
The great danger to early Christians came from Jerusalem rather than Rome; the Jewish ruling body, the Sanhedrin, would execute them for heresy after a trial. But Rome was not concerned with religious practices outside Rome itself and would generally allow conquered nations to continue to practice their religion, as long as it did not threaten civil threats to Roman political power. (This is why Pontius Pilate refused to prosecute Christ and washed his hands of Christ’s blood; he simply acceded to the wishes of the Hebrew authorities.)
Thus, much of the early church’s growth took place in Turkey, particularly the large Asian land mass, known as “Anatolia”, that forms the bulk of Turkey. This area was at peace for several hundred years after Christ’s death and was accustomed to a hodgepodge of religious beliefs. It consisted primarily of Roman colonies which were Greek in culture, but had large numbers of lesser tribal people (including Jews) passing through or inhabiting it.
These early Christians were allowed to worship, preach, and convert others in comparative freedom. The great city of Anatolia — and perhaps the second greatest city in the Roman Empire of the time — was Antioch, the former capital of the Seleucid Empire, located right in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea, at the crossroads of Asia Minor and Greece. Predictably, this became the site of the first “Christian” church.
Antioch’s church was to remain enormously important over the coming centuries. It was one of the four original patriarchates of the Church, which were something like today’s archbishoprics. Today, both the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches continue to have patriarchates in Antioch.
Meditation : Prayer : May the God of hope fill me and all of us with the joy and peace that comes from believing, so that we may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit......Amen |
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