June 30, 2020
Acts 28:13-16; 30-31
From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.  There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.  The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.  When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!
New International Version (NIV)
What next?  Are you wondering?  If we are watching the camel’s back, how many more straws until it breaks?  I won’t recount the woes of this year in our world.  The presence of the dust from the Sahara reminded me that we may feel like we are enduring the plagues of Moses these days. 

Paul could have walked up the  Appian way singing, “Nobody knows the trouble I have seen.”  Who would have blamed him?  After the shipwreck he was bitten by a snake on Malta.  The locals waited for him to die, but Paul took the opportunity to heal Publius’s father and others on the Island.  He was a wounded healer!  How can God use our suffering to enable us to minister to others in their suffering?  When Paul arrived in Italy, he ran into brothers and sisters.  Were they some of the ones he mentions at the end of his letter to the Romans?  He thanked God and was encouraged.  In Rome, under house arrest, he preached first to the Jews.   Some believed his gospel and some did not.  Afterward he turned to the Gentiles.

After defying death in a number of ways, Paul ministers for two years in a rented house in Rome proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and without hindrance.  After coming through many dangers, toils and snares, Paul finds himself free to tell others that God is King and Jesus is Lord.  This is astonishing!  As a prisoner he has freedom in the capitol city of the empire to say that Jesus alone is Lord.

Without reminding you of the troubles we have seen in the last months, I would say that we still have friends in the body of Christ and we have as much freedom to proclaim Christ as we ever have.  Some of the most powerful worship in our world happens where government and circumstances are most restrictive.  We preach and sing and worship together from house to house as the believers in the ancient world did.  Mostly they did not have large buildings where they could cluster and cloister away from the world.  Paul had a great ministry from his house.  Friends of mine are doing this all across the country.  In this world we still have trouble.  But we do not fear:  Christ has overcome the world.  Let’s talk more about our Savior than we do about our struggles and show the world what it means to live in his kingdom.

Pray with me:         
Our Gracious Father and Lord, we are no better than our ancestors in the faith.  They faced trials and tribulation.  So do we.  Help us to receive the benediction of those who persevere under trials and to withstand the tests to our faith.  Let us use the freedom you have given us for your greater glory and the growth of your kingdom on earth.  We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.   
Join us in memorizing the Word.  Scripture for this week:    
Matthew 6:7-8
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan.  Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG 
We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week.  In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year.  Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.  
Joyfully, 
Duane 

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