May 04, 2014–Take Time to Listen

May 5, 2014 By

(Be blessed by the DWOD for May 04, 2014 by guest contributor Kenneth Copeland)

copelandsIf any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)

When you’re facing a problem, the very first thing you should ask God for is wisdom. Not money. Not power. Not even healing. But wisdom.

God’s wisdom is the key that will unlock every door in your life. It will turn your every failure into success. So, stop wasting your prayer power begging God for things you think you need and spend some time instead listening to what He has to say about your situation.

If you’ve never tried that before, practically speaking, here’s what you need to do.

First: Lay out the entire problem before the Lord, not because He doesn’t know what you’re going through, but because laying it out helps you. It helps you see things from a more objective point of view.

I remember when I used to take my problems to my father, A. W. Copeland. Somehow, when I was explaining them to him, they began to look different to me. I’d get a new perspective, and as I talked, he’d point out areas I hadn’t considered yet. Explaining your problems to God, point by point, will help you accomplish the same thing.

Second: Listen for the Spirit of God to advise you. Pay particular attention to what He says through the written Word. Most likely, the care of your problem has choked the Word of God right out of your heart (Mark 4:18-19). If so, you need to get the Bible and begin to put that Word back in again. Then the Holy Spirit will begin to speak to you through it.

As you’re listening, be sure to remain teachable. Be ready to accept rebuke if necessary. Be very honest with God. Look for ways in which you’ve been wrong and confess them to Him. It’s all right. Those sins won’t come as any surprise to Him. He already knows about them. Confession just gives you the opportunity to get rid of them.

Third: Act on the wisdom God gives you. Let go of your own methods and put His methods into operation. Be obedient. If you don’t, that wonderful wisdom won’t do you any good at all.

As you pray today, set aside your own ideas and start seeking the wisdom of God. It’s the only thing that can permanently solve the problems you’ve been facing. It’s truly the most precious gift God has to give.

Seek wisdom.

(This post appeared first in “From Faith to Faith”, a daily guide to Victory. To subscribe to this daily devotional and access other great resources, please go to www.kcm.org)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

May 03, 2014–Voice Recognition vs Visual Identification

May 3, 2014 By

The Sams in IsraelIn yesterday’s DWOD, we saw the difficulty that Mary Magdalene had in recognizing Jesus. She could not tell it was Jesus by looking at Him, because she was not expecting Him to be alive. Neither did she recognize His voice when he said: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

That is why she mistakes Jesus for the gardener.

However, when Jesus calls her by name, there is instant recognition and response.

“Mary!”

“Rabboni!”

The first time Jesus talks to her, He uses 9 words (in English) spread over two sentences. The second time it is only one word.

She gets to hear Him for a longer spell the first time, yet she does not recognize His voice. But when He simply utters the one word: Mary, she knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that it is Jesus.

Why?

To answer this question, let us do some research on Mary Magdalene as she appears in the gospels.

She is mentioned by name 13 times. The very first occurrence is in Luke 8:2-3, where we read: “…certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities-Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.”

(By the way, the name Magdalene simply refers to the fact that she was from a place called Magdala, the way Jesus was referred to as the Nazarene because he was from Nazareth. Since there were other women named Mary associated with Jesus, this was a way of distinguishing her from the other Mary’s.)

She is identified as being one of the many women who, along with the twelve disciples “were with him.”

She is also tagged as being one of a number of women who had been healed of diseases and set free of evil spirits. Even more specifically, we are told that Jesus delivered her from the oppression of seven demons.

Finally, we are told that she was a woman of means who supported Jesus financially. (Now you know why they needed a treasurer–Judas!)

The inference from all this information given to us is that Mary Magdalene spent a fair bit of time with Jesus along his ministry journeys “through every city and village.” (8:1)

She is also singled out by Matthew, Mark and John as being one of the handful of women who stood at a distance and watched Jesus die on the cross. Furthermore, her name is also mentioned by both Matthew and Mark as being part of the group that was present when Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb.

What is also remarkable is that her name is mentioned first in all these lists except one. Clearly, she occupied a place of prominence among the women who followed Jesus. This would also explain why Peter and John came running to the tomb to check out the empty tomb when they heard the news from her. They trusted her, for they knew her well.

All of this evidence points to the fact that Mary Magdalene had heard Jesus call her by name many times before. There was a closeness, a level of intimacy that had developed between them simply because she chose to spend time with Jesus.

This is why she who had trouble recognizing His voice in a string of words had no trouble whatsoever when He simply said: “Mary!”

Dear DWOD friend, this is why you have heard us say over and over again that developing intimacy with the Lord, hearing His voice and learning how to distinguish His voice from that of the enemy as well as our own flesh are keys to advancing into your destiny.

For you too will run into situations similar to what Mary Magdalene experienced, where you may not be able to recognize Jesus visually or readily. However, if you have taken the time and the effort to hang around Him and know Him intimately, you too will have no trouble whatsoever knowing that it is He indeed who is calling you by name. And your response will also be as instant as Mary’s “Rabboni!”

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

May 02, 2014–Mistaking God for the Gardener

May 2, 2014 By

The Sams in IsraelShe, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” (John 20:15)

Ever wonder why Mary Magdalene would mistake Jesus for the gardener?

At first blush, it would appear that it was a physical problem with her visual perception. You could blame the low light of early morning for preventing her from recognizing Jesus.

Or you could attribute it to a change in Jesus’ appearance following the Resurrection. We find the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) as well as the disciples out fishing on the lake (John 21) also having trouble identifying Jesus.

While we cannot dismiss these two factors, my sense is that it was her expectation that was responsible for her inability to recognize Jesus.

How so?

Mary had come expecting to see the dead body of Jesus, as you can tell from her response to angels’ question: “Woman, why are you weeping?” “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” (v. 13)

And again, when Jesus asks her: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”, she is wondering if he had taken the body away and laid it somewhere else.

If all you expect to see is a dead Jesus, then a man standing in the garden cannot be the Risen Lord, can he? The only other logical choice would be the gardener. (Considering how hot it would get in that part of the world by mid-day, it was a necessity for a gardener to be up and at it very early in the morning).

Her expectation led to her mistaking God for the Gardener.

This is not the first time in the Bible that expectations were responsible for someone not recognizing Jesus for who He really was. Case in point. The Jewish leaders of His day. They expected the Messiah to be a military ruler like David and not the Suffering Servant that Jesus was…so they never saw Him as the One they were waiting for.

Similarly, when Jesus healed on the Sabbath, the leaders could not see God in the healing, because their expectation was that a faithful Jew, especially a teacher like Jesus, would do no “work” on the Sabbath.

Listen to these indignant words from the ruler of a synagogue: “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” (Luke 13:14)

Many years ago, I was greeted with anger at the end of Sunday morning worship by a member of the church I was serving at the time. She was ticked off at me, because a guest she had brought with her, who had been a member of the same church several decades prior, left upset.

My first impulse was to wonder whether I had said something in the sermon that was responsible for this. (Occupational hazard, you know…lol!) Then she divulged that what had really upset this woman was the fact that we did not sing “The Doxology” (Praise God from whom all blessings flow) following the offering.

She had come to church expecting that every element of the service would be exactly the same as her last visit some 30 years back. To hear us sing an offering song to the tune of Edelweiss was simply not acceptable. At the time we had a rotation of 4 different offering songs, so “The Doxology” was still sung once a month. But, no! That was way too much change for her to bear. So, she was never coming back.

In a way she was like Mary Magdalene, wasn’t she? Mary’s last picture of Jesus was His dead body being laid in the tomb. Because she was expecting to see Him in that same state, she could not even conceive of encountering the Risen Lord.

Dear DWOD friend, please watch your expectations as you continue on the road to your destiny, so you never end up mistaking God for the Gardener, as Mary did.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

April 29, 2014–Follow Your Dream

April 30, 2014 By

(Be blessed by this DWOD for April 29, 2014 by guest contributor Gloria Copeland)

gloria-copeland11And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with you. (Exodus 3:11-12)

Have you ever had a Holy Spirit inspired dream, a dream of doing something really great for Jesus? A dream of being so prosperous, for instance, that you can finance a nationwide revival? A dream of leading thousands of people to the Lord?

At one time or another, you probably have, but perhaps you backed away from it. Maybe you thought, “Oh my, I couldn’t do that. Satan’s kept me defeated for so long I have a poor self-image.”

If so, I have some good news for you. If you’ll believe God, even a poor self-image won’t keep you from success. Look in the book of Exodus and you’ll see a man who proved that. His name was Moses.

Moses didn’t have a very good self-image. He’d made a terrible mistake early in his career. It was a mistake that drove him into the wilderness and kept him there for 40 years herding somebody else’s sheep.

He’d once dreamed of being a deliverer of God’s people, but no more. As far as he was concerned, he was finished…a failure…a flop!

But God didn’t think so. In fact, when God came to Moses in that wilderness, He didn’t ask for Moses’ credentials. He didn’t mention his shady history. He just told him to go see Pharaoh and tell him to let God’s people go.

Moses, however, was still wrestling with his poor self-image. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” he stammered.

You know what God said in response? He just said, “Certainly, I will be with you.”

You see, it didn’t matter who Moses was. What mattered was that the living God was with him. The same thing is true for you today. You don’t need a history of successes behind you to answer God’s call. You don’t need a string of spiritual credentials. All you need is the presence of the Lord.

Think about that when the devil tells you you’re a failure, when he says you’ll never be able to do what God has put in your heart to do. Put him in his place. Tell him it doesn’t matter who you are because the living God is with you.

Then dare to follow your dream!

(This post appeared first in “From Faith to Faith”, a daily guide to Victory. To subscribe to this daily devotional and access other great resources, please go to www.kcm.org)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

April 28, 2014–Do NOT cling to Jesus

April 30, 2014 By

Jeeva & Sulojana Woodvale March 2014Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” (John 20:17)

You know the story. Mary Magdalene is crying because, as she tells the angels in the tomb: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

When Jesus asks her why she is weeping, she mistakes him for the gardener and says: “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

But everything changes when Jesus calls her by name: “Mary!” Instantly she recognizes Him and responds right away: “Rabboni!”

The gospel writer does not mention this, but it would appear that Mary then expressed her delight at seeing Jesus alive by hugging him or wrapping her arms around his feet or some similar gesture.

Her expression of affection, no matter what it might have been, prompts Jesus to say: “Do not cling to me…but go to my brethren and say…”

Clearly, Jesus is not opposed to receiving such a warm expression of affection from one of his dearest friends and supporters on earth (see Luke 8:2)…but, at that particular moment, something else took precedence.

Mary’s assignment was not to stay and cling to Jesus, but to go and bring the Good News of His Resurrection to others.

Dear DWOD friend, I believe that this is a “now” word for you and me who are part of the Church today. As much as we would love to simply cling to Jesus and express our affection for a prolonged period of time, He reminds us that we have a task to fulfil.

As a matter of fact, the only reason we come close to Him is so that we may go away from Him, so that we may bring others close to Him, so that they may then go away from Him and bring others close to Him…get the picture?

Let’s flashback to an earlier incident in the life of Jesus. On the Mountain of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John are granted an incredible experience. They see Jesus in all His glory, joined by Moses and Elijah…wow! What a spiritual high that must have been!

Peter is so caught up in that awesome moment that he stammers out these words: “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Mark 9:5).

But before he could finish expressing his desire to prolong the ecstatic experience, a cloud overshadows them, they hear the voice from heaven affirming that Jesus is the Father’s beloved Son and poof! No one is left but Jesus.

When we read the subsequent verses, we realize that the reason they had this incredible vision at the top of the mountain was so they could fulfil the mission that awaited them at the bottom.

There was a boy who was possessed by a deaf and dumb spirit, who needed to be set free. He would not have been delivered from his demonic oppression, had they chosen to set up shop on the mountaintop.

Yes, Jesus is so good and gracious to offer us such high moments of intimacy with Him, but He does not want us to cling to Him at the expense of neglecting those who need us to share the gospel with them.

When Mary Magdalene received this directive from Jesus, she “came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.”

Will we follow suit? Jesus is depending on you and me to act in obedience.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

April 27, 2014–Rise Up and Wage War

April 27, 2014 By

(Be blessed by this DWOD for April 27, 2014 by guest contributor, Shyju Matthew)

ShyjuMathew2Do you know that right now even as you are reading this article the devil and his kingdom is waging war against you?

1 Peter 5:8 reminds us, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Job 1:7 is clear that our enemy does not rest. “The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.””

The battle is constant, that’s why Peter reminds us to “be sober-minded and watchful.”

Satan not only waits to devour us but also tries to outsmart us. (2 Corinthians 2:11) He constantly is scheming and plotting on how to deceive us. The Bible therefore encourages us in 1 Peter 1:13: “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”

The devil’s biggest scheme against you is to exhaust your mind. And imagine the million ways in which the enemy tries to do that on a daily basis.

Mind drained from work–both in your career and home.

Mind exhausted from petty fights and vain arguments.

Mind tired from failures.

Mind shaky from anxiety.

Mind shut with depression.

Mind distracted with temptations.

Mind that is absent of God.

Is it not interesting that over and over again the Bible commands God’s people to “stand strong” and “fear not”!  Yes, it is a command, because your greatest battle is not in your office, it’s in your head. Your greatest battle is not in your home, it’s in your heart and that’s the throne where God lives. Don’t stop waging the war of faith.

James 4:7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Alert minds are those that are washed and refreshed in God’s Word daily.

Alert minds are those that believe God’s Word over the lie of the enemy.

Alert minds are those that don’t let their circumstance determine their relationship with God.

If you are fed up, exhausted, tired, letting temptation get you, running away in fear, then probably the lying lion is chasing you! So this message is God’s Word to your soul–RISE UP AND WAGE WAR!

You cannot wage war if you are sitting in the pool of your self-pity! You cannot wage war if you have given up in your mind. You must rise up. “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.” (1 Peter 4: 7)

You cannot pray if you do not rise up. Stop trying to make things happen on your own and lean on Him. Know who you are in Christ and the great purposes you have in Him, and stand in the truth and PRAY! (Ephesians 6:14)

What anyone else around you is doing should not bother you. “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

It is time then, to worship like never before, to weep before Him like never before, to seek and knock like never before, to love Him like never before. Wage War!

Are you with me?

(Born in India and presently living in Montreal, Canada, Revivalist Shyju Matthew continues to demonstrate God’s mighty Word through the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in crusades and conferences all over the world. This post first appeared on his blog Guarding The Heart)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

April 26, 2014–The Ultimate Proof

April 26, 2014 By

empty tomb

(Be blessed by this DWOD for April 26, 2014 by guest contributor, Lance Wallnau)

He established the Harvard School of Law, based on his principal work of legal scholarship called a “Treatise on the Law of Evidence.”

He decided to apply his “laws of evidence” to the most controversial and disputed trial in all history–the trial of Jesus and the claims of the resurrection.

He intended to disprove the Gospel account.

The result? This Jewish scholar, Dr. Simon Greenleaf, undisputed master of legal evidence, became convinced–based on the evidence–that Jesus was most certainly raised from the dead. Greenleaf went on to become an influential follower of Christ.

Simon put his finger on the one issue–the one question at the center of the case, namely…

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BODY?

1. Did His disciples steal the body? This same group that was “hiding” in a locked room for fear of the Jews would hardly have mounted an evening raid against armed Roman guards. And where did they go with the body?

GREENLEAF CONTINUED…

2. If his disciples had overpowered the guards or paid them off and stolen the body, why would they for the next 30 years let themselves be beaten, hunted, burned and boiled alive, skinned and crucified upside down to proclaim a message they themselves knew was a hoax?

Why be martyred for a lie? Clearly, they believed He was risen… so they could not have conspired together in a great public deception.

WHAT ABOUT HIS ENEMIES?

3. Jesus’ enemies most certainly wanted the body to be found. All they needed to end the harassment of the early church was to produce the decaying corpse of the so-called Messiah and force the public to see the dead body. They were frustrated because they could not find the body.

GREENLEAF TURNED TO THE GUARDS…

4. What about the Roman Guards? The least likely scenario is that the Roman guards slept and the body was stolen…or that they were paid off to let the body be stolen.

These were Roman soldiers–the same lot who mercilessly beat and whipped the so-called Messiah a few days earlier. They were not sympathetic to the movement one bit.

Pilate told them to take a “guard” and watch. A watch consisted of 4 soldiers, which was changed every four hours. They would be executed if their prisoners escaped. The last thing these four men would agree to do would be to risk execution for sleeping on duty after being assigned to guard the body of a religious leader who predicted His resurrection.

FINALLY GREENLEAF ASKED…COULD JESUS NOT HAVE DIED?

It is called the “swoon theory.” (The “PASSOVER PLOT” was a best-selling book based on this theory.)

Here is what Greenleaf concluded.

5. Could Jesus have revived in the tomb and not died? According to this theory, Jesus, after being whipped, crucified and stabbed by a spear, somehow revived and recovered from His trauma in the tomb. He used his pierced hands to roll away the stone and then overpowered the four guards and knocked them out. Either that, or moved with such ninja stealth that they never heard him roll the stone back. Then He walked on pierced feet several miles to make an appearance before his nervous disciples that was so effective it convinced them all that He was vibrating with the power of a supernatural body. How likely is that scenario?

Greenleaf concluded… it was EASIER to believe he was raised from the dead than not to believe it.

The body parts of Buddha and the Prophet Mohammed have their sacred shrines, but Jesus has no proper grave because they NEVER FOUND THE BODY!

What do you say?

(Dr. Lance Wallnau is a world-class trainer and consultant whose students span the globe. From bestselling authors, pastors, and billion dollar CEO‘s, he has helped to transform the lives of thousands. Please check out his resources at www.lancelearning.com)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

April 21, 2014–Triumphant Defeats

April 21, 2014 By

(Be blessed by this DWOD for April 21, 2014 by guest contributor Os Hillman)

os hillman“This was now the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.” (John 21:14)

William Wallace was a Scotsman who sought freedom from a tyrannical king of England in the 1200s. He initially took up this cause in retaliation for his own personal family losses. His cause grew among the people, and it became an insurrection against England. Wallace entreated Robert the Bruce, the future king of Scotland. However, Bruce betrayed Wallace in return for lands from the king of England. Wallace was turned over to the king of England to be tortured to death for crimes against England.

Bruce realized his betrayal against Wallace and his own country. This remorse led to real repentance and a return to his commitment to the people of Scotland. He finally took ownership of the mission to free Scotland from England. He led the people of Scotland into subsequent battles against England and freed them. Wallace’s defeat ultimately led to victory through Bruce. It took the lives of many, including Wallace, for victory to be accomplished. [James Mackay, William Wallace, Brave Heart (Edinburgh, Scotland: Mainstream Publishing, 1995).]

So often defeat is what is required before victory can be won. Jesus said that unless the seed dies and goes into the ground it cannot bring forth fruit (see Jn. 12:24). The death of a vision is often required before the fulfillment can really take place. Have you failed at something in your life? Have you not seen the vision fulfilled you thought you were given? The vision may yet happen.

The disciples thought they suffered their greatest defeat when Jesus died on the cross. However, this defeat became the greatest victory on earth. Christ’s death gave liberty. Forgiveness came to all men. New life came forth-new strength for the disciples. Resurrection and new life came as a result of a “defeat.”

“There are triumphant defeats that rival victories” (Montaigne, French philosopher).

(Reprinted by permission from the author. Os Hillman is an international speaker and author of 15 books on workplace calling. To learn more, visit http://www.MarketplaceLeaders.org)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

April 20, 2014–Resurrection Life

April 20, 2014 By

(Be blessed by the DWOD for April 20, 2014 by guest contributor Kenneth Copeland)

copelandsNow upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. (Luke 24:1-3)

Truly, it’s time for us to stop looking for the living among the dead. It’s time for us to stop wandering around in the cemetery of sin, sickness and failure and to step into resurrection life!

As a resurrected creature, you’re no accident going somewhere to happen. Your life isn’t just a loose web of events and circumstances. God has specific plans for you.

Maybe He intends for you to have the greatest healing ministry of this century. Or perhaps He wants to turn you into a tremendous preacher. Maybe He has a revelation prepared for you that will enable you to bless the whole world. But you’ll never know what He has in store for you until you put your attention on Him.

That’s why the devil works hard to keep you focusing on the problems of life. That’s why he tries to keep your attention turned away from the living Word of God. He doesn’t want you to know you’re full of the resurrection life of Jesus. In fact, the prospect of it terrifies him.
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Why? Because once you truly understand that you have the life of God inside you, you’ll begin to act just like Jesus did. You’ll lay hands on the sick and they’ll recover. You’ll cast out demons. You’ll preach the gospel to every creature.

In short, you’ll be just what God intended you to be. You’ll be the Body of Christ on the earth.

Don’t let Satan bind you with the grave clothes of yesterday’s sin and defeat. You’re not dead anymore. You’ve been raised with Jesus. Come out from the tombs and start living resurrection life!

(This post appeared first in “From Faith to Faith”, a daily guide to Victory. To subscribe to this daily devotional and access other great resources, please go to www.kcm.org)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

April 19, 2014–When in Rome, do as…

April 19, 2014 By

Day 40: Acts 28:1-31

Jeeva & Sulojana Woodvale March 2014Paul has finally arrived in Rome, just as the Lord had declared: “As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome” (23:11).

Unlike other places where Paul would share the gospel with the goal of establishing a church, Rome already had a community of believers. Paul had penned the epistle to the Romans several years earlier. In Romans 15:29 Paul expresses his desire to visit them: “I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of Christ’s blessing.” So, we should not be surprised to read in Acts 28:15 that some of them greeted Paul upon his arrival.

There is also another significant difference in the way Paul spent his time in Rome. He was still a prisoner, but he did not have to share a cell with others. Instead he was assigned a soldier who would guard him while he was under house arrest.

Paul had his own digs which must have been quite spacious, because when the local Jewish leaders “came to him at his lodgings in great numbers” (v. 23), there was enough room for them all.

What do you do when you’re in Rome, if you’re the apostle Paul? You take advantage of every opportunity to bring others to Jesus. Duh! Paul begins with the Jewish leadership. He spends a whole day “trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets.”

The results were no different from any other place where Paul preached the gospel. “Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe.” (v. 24). But that does not deter him. He simply turns his attention to the Gentiles.

Here is what Paul has to say about this stay in Rome in Philippians 1:12-14: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel: The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ, and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly.”

Did these efforts produce fruit? If this reference at the end of an epistle is any indication, the answer is a big resounding YES! “All the saints greet you, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.” (Philippians 4:22).

Oh, by the way, did you notice that Paul did something else with his time in Rome? That’s right. He wrote letters to the churches he had established along the way. The so-called “Prison Epistles”—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon—emerged from his house arrest.

There is a sense in which we, who are part of the Church today, also find ourselves in “Rome.”  We too may feel that we are under the watchful eyes of those in power or those who are opposed to us, at times. Yet, for the most part, we, like Paul, have the great privilege of “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” (v. 31). We get the same spectrum of responses as Paul did too!

Are we taking advantage of this window of opportunity the way Paul did with the two years that he was given? He made every attempt that he possibly could to fulfil the mandate Jesus gave us all to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8) and “make disciples of the nations.” (Matthew 28:19-20). He did this through personal contact, in small groups and by his writing.

I sense Holy Spirit saying to all of us, as we conclude this 40 Day walk through the book of Acts and the corresponding Fast: “When in Rome, do as the apostle did.”

Some of you who are reading this need to write the books that you’ve been putting off until now within the next two years. And all of us need to “proclaim the kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness” while we are still able to do so “without hindrance.” Amen?

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam
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