I am Paul - The Little One.

seeking for someone to lead him by the hand.

  We sailed from Paphos, a port in Cyprus and travelled to Perga, a fortified city in the Province of Pamphylia. The goddess Diana was worshipped in Perga and her priestesses were cult prostitutes. John Mark separated himself from us, abandoning us there and went back to Jerusalem. After we departed from Perga, we travelled to another Antioch in the Province of Pisidia in Southern Galatia. It was a major stopping point on the trade route from Ephesus to the Euphrates. The sanctuary of Apollo, the sun god, the half-god, half-man was in the nearby hills. Apollo was worshipped freely and openly there.

  We went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. After the reading of the Law of Moses and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue asked us if we had any word of exhortation or encouragement for the people. That's when I stood up, and motioning with my hand for them to be silent as I was about to speak. I spoke under the control of the Holy Spirit and said, "Men of Israel, and all you who fear God and have reverential respect for Him, listen to my words." It was my passion to persuaded men everywhere to revere and fear God contrary to the Law of Moses. It was my desire that they would have grace and serve God acceptably with the reverential fear of the Lord.

  I continued to preach with great boldness like the apostles did in Jerusalem, "The God of this people Israel chose our forefathers, and made this people great. When they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, with an outstretched arm God uplifted and brought them out of that strange land. For about forty years like a nursing father, God cared for them in the wilderness and endured their unruly behaviour. When He had destroyed seven nations greater than themselves in the land of Canaan, He divided and gave the Hebrews their land as an inheritance. Distributing it to them by lot, all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. He then gave them the judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Afterwards they desired a king and asked God for a king. So God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin for forty years."

  The room was filled with silence as I was delivering my history lesson. Their eyes were fasten on me intently. However I was saving the best for last. I continued in my quest to deliver Gods message to them, "So, when God had removed Saul as king, He raised up David to be their new king. God testified, and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, who shall do all my will and carry out my instructions.' Of this man's descendants God has brought to Israel a Saviour in the person of Jesus, in keeping with His promises. Now before the coming of Jesus, John preached to all the people of Israel the baptism of repentance, in turning to God from sin. As John was ending his ministry, he asked, 'Who do you secretly think that I am? No, I am not the Christ. But after me One is coming, whose shoes of His feet I am unworthy to untie.' Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and all among you who revere and fear God. It is to us that this message of salvation has been sent."

  Gods words began to flow off my tongue like arrows shot from a bow. His words upon my lips were inspired and spontaneous. They were sharper than any two edged sword in the hands of a skilled battle warrior, "For the people living in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognise who Jesus was or understand the message of our prophets which are read every Sabbath day. So they fulfilled that prophesy by condemning Him. They could not find any legitimate grounds for a death sentence. Nevertheless they asked Pilate to have Him slain and executed. And when they had carried out all the things that were written about Him in the Book, they took Him down from the cross, and placed Him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead."

  The room was filled with a silent expectation. Their eyes and faces were fixed upon me with anticipation. I had taken them on a journey through time and had enlightened their minds to the Scriptures. They understood them in a way that they had never seen them before. I continued bravely, "Jesus appeared for many days to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now His witnesses to the people. As for us, we are bringing you the Good News that, what God promised to our forefathers, He has fulfilled for us His children, in raising Jesus again from the dead. As it is written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have become your Father.' As concerning that He raised Him up from the dead, to no more return to decay, He said, 'I will give the holy and trustworthy things of David to you.' This is explained elsewhere in another Psalm, 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' For David did indeed serve God's purposes in his own generation, but after that, he died and was buried with his fathers and he did see decay. His body returned back to the ground and returned to the dust. But the One, whom God raised again, did not see decay. Therefore, brothers, let it be known to you, that through this man Jesus is proclaimed to you forgiveness of sins! God justifies and clears everyone from all things. To all those who believe and put their trust in this man, from which you could not be justified and cleared by the Law of Moses."

  I ended my sermon with a warning from our holy Scriptures, "Watch out then and beware so that this word found in the Prophets may not happen to you. 'You Mockers! Look and marvel and perish! For in your own time, I am doing a work among you that you simply will not believe, even if someone explains it to you!'"

  When the Jews left the meeting place, the Gentiles invited Barnabas and I to tell them more about these matters the following Sabbath. Many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed us after the meeting. We spoke a word of encouragement to them, persuading them to continue in the grace of God and hold fast to the love and kindness of God.

  When the next Sabbath day came, almost the whole city gathered together to hear the message about the Messiah. But when the Jews who had not believed saw the multitudes and crowds of people, they were filled with jealously and spoke up against what I was preaching and insulted me before all the people. Then Barnabas and I answered boldly and courageously, and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should have first been spoken to you, the Jews. But since you are rejecting it and are judging yourselves unworthy of everlasting life. We are turning to the Gentiles."

  From that day on I preached to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. For this is what God had ordered me to do saying, "I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be a deliverer to them, bringing salvation to the ends of the earth." When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and honoured the message about the Lord Jesus Christ. Many believed and came to trust in Jesus Christ, as their Saviour. They were now appointed unto eternal life.

  The message of the Lord concerning salvation through Jesus Christ was spread throughout that whole region. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the God-fearing women of high social standing, and all the leading men of that city. They organised and arranged persecutions against us, and expelled us out of their coasts. We refused to allow earthly things to attach themselves to us, so we shook off the dust against them, and journeyed to the city of Iconium. We, His disciples were all filled with overwhelming joy, and we were full of the Holy Spirit.

  I am Paul, the little one. I am the least of all the apostles.

  Amen - so be it.

  Love for the Jews. #5

  When we arrived at Iconium the capital city in the Province of Lycaonia, Barnabas and I once again went into the synagogue of the Jews. We spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed and came to trust on the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet in Iconium the same thing happened as it did at Perga in the Province of Pamphylia. The unbelieving Jews who would not be persuaded by our teachings stirred up the Gentiles. They poisoned their minds against us. My heart became heavy about my fellow countryman, the Jews. They had disqualified themselves by deeming themselves to be unworthy of receiving eternal life.

  I encouraged men everywhere not to deem themselves unworthy, especially when eating and drinking at the Lord's Table. Whosoever shall eat the bread, and drink the cup of the Lord, unworthily, eats and drinks judgement upon himself, because they have not discerned or recognized the Lord's body correctly. They will be g
uilty of desecrating the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus. So let a person examine himself first, that he deems himself worthy of receiving eternal life. Then he may eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. My fellow Jews had deemed themselves unworthy to receive the free gift of salvation and were therefore disqualified of eating and drinking at the Lord's Table.

  I received this insight by divine revelation from the Lord. How on the night that the Lord Jesus was betrayed He took bread. When he had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." When the supper was ended, He also took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new testament in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." The Lord's Table is where we remember what Christ, the Messiah did for us upon the cross. It is not a place for us to remember what sins we committed and which laws we have broken. For every time we eat the bread and drink the cup, we signify and proclaim the Lord's death, till He comes again.