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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. Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Paul’s First Journey [3]: In “Antioch in Pisidia” Bible Verse:Acts 13:13-25 (ESV) "Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. Icon of Elijah, Russia, 15th century And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. Before his coming, John [the Baptist] had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’”" Message:
We are now well into the first really long and arduous foreign journey taken by the disciples; this is commonly known as Paul’s First Journey. There are many maps of it available online; the Daily Devotion map of this journey shows only the towns and countries visited, not the routes, since we are reading Acts so closely. (Showing lines for routes often makes these maps hard to read.)
The difficulty of the names is something the reader of Acts simply has to accept. Paul, Barnabas, and some others come to a town named “Antioch” in central Anatolia; this town should not be confused with the great Greek city of Antioch, at the juncture of Syria and Anatolia, from which they started; so it is called “Antioch in Pisidia,” to differentiate the two. Also, one must constantly be aware of how different Syria and Turkey were before they were conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Anatolia, nearly co-extensive with the modern country of Turkey, was Greek in both culture and language.
Saint Paul by El Greco
St. Paul, by El Greco
When he begins to preach, Paul, as usual, begins with a capsule history of Judaism. Unlike Peter’s great sermon earlier, Paul omits Abraham and concentrates on the eras of the judges and kings. From these he segues into the story of John the Baptist. While Paul does not mention Moses by name, he refers to him. We will notice that almost all preaching of the Gospel to Jewish audiences begins with a considerable recitation of Hebrew religious history.
Paul’s sermon follows a logical and rhetorically effective line; he gives the history of leadership of the Hebrews, concentrating on how God has changed the nature of the leadership: prophets, to judges, to kings, to John the Baptist. He thus prepares his audience for the idea that radical change in governance of Judaism has sound historical precedent.
Historical precedent is important to the Jews; by showing that Christ’s ascendancy is another step in the normal progression of Judaism, he eases his audience into the idea that Christ’s teachings are part of Hebrew history. That is, Christ is not a heretic. Rather, God had always intended that Christ would be the goal and the terminal point of Judaism, using the Hebrews and transforming their religion into an effective means of eternal salvation.
For similar reasons, he cites prophecy of Christ’s coming; then recites John the Baptist’s testimony that Jesus is this Christ. By following single steps, he ties Christ to beliefs already solidly integrated into Jewish theology.
Meditation : Prayer : Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that you direct my way unto you, and make me and all of us to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end that we may establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before you, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints............Amen |
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