The Lord’s Grace

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
Romans 16:19-20 NLT

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you”, Paul concludes. What a lovely thought to leave with the Roman believers. The word “grace” means favour, blessings and kindness. But the sobering thought is that because of our sin we deserve the opposite. That God chooses to bless us through His grace inevitably must bring us to our knees in grateful worship. We read Ephesians 2:8, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” We don’t deserve fellowship and life with God, because He is a sinless and pure Being, whereas we are sinful and impure. But the fact is that Jesus took on Himself the punishment that we deserved for our sins and in return He gave us His righteousness, so that rather than see sinful humans, God sees Jesus. That’s divine grace!

Paul’s prayer about the grace of the Lord being with us means that we must be gracious in our relationships with others. Our selfish behaviour often upsets other people. Other people’s selfish behaviour often upsets us. But as we extend the grace of God to others, two things have an opportunity to happen. Firstly, God will be able to reveal Himself through our kindness. Secondly, as we share God’s grace, we too will experience His kindness within us. Paul wrote that we must even “clothe” ourselves in grace. Colossians 3:12, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience”. 

Another area of grace comes in forgiveness. In Colossians 3:13, Paul wrote, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others”. That’s grace.

There is a lovely gracious blessing that the Lord instructed Moses to give to the priests. We read in Numbers 6:23-27, “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favour and give you his peace.’ Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.”

This is how God’s grace works – He has poured it out on us so that we can do the same to those around us. We can’t show God’s grace unless we have received it ourselves. So when Paul issued the greeting “May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you” he was praying that the grace we receive through Jesus would enhance and improve every day of our lives. Thank You Lord!

Dear Father God. Your grace is limitless and eternal. May it transform our lives and the communities where we live. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Obedient to the Lord

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
Romans 16:19-20 NLT

Paul is happy because he knows that the Roman believers are obedient followers of Christ. A faith statement on his part, but one he felt, through the whispering of the Holy Spirit within him, to be the case. In those days, without the benefit of the New Testament writings, the truth about God’s plan and His message of salvation through Jesus came through reference to the Jewish Bible and through the Apostles’ teaching. And of course the Truth came through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul implied through the next few words in Romans 16:19 that “obedience to the Lord” would lead to righteous living which was wisdom, but he also appealed to his readers to stay innocent of any wrongdoing. In other words they should avoid sin. The person of satan emerged as a potential assailant, but through “the God of peace” he would soon be a defeated foe. 

We pilgrims today have a much easier time in knowing right from wrong, and how to be “obedient to the Lord”. But translating that “knowing” into practice in our society today is far from easy. Even the church leaders in our land are promoting behaviour that the Bible clearly says is wrong. If Paul was around today, would he still be “very happy”? Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, obey my commandments”. Obedience to Christ is fundamental to the Christian. At best, it may appear old fashioned in the eyes of the world. But at worst it may lead to imprisonment or even death, as in other nations. We must stand firm – “But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (Acts 5:29). The Gospel that we preach is counter-cultural and to many an offence because it challenges lifestyles, and attitudes and more. But we have to be obedient in doing what God has asked us to do, because salvation comes through Jesus. Jesus said in John 14:6, “ … I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. When challenged by Jesus about his future relationship with Him, “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God”” (John 6:68-69).

We pilgrims have a clear understanding of how we should live our lives. But obedience to the Lord is a key that will unlock the doors of Heaven. We cannot compromise. In this season of “Pride” marches, I read today of a Christian councillor who tweeted on social media, “Pride is not a virtue but a sin“. As a result he has been suspended from the Conservative Party, and “cancelled” by six other organisations. Here is his full tweet, “When did Pride become a thing to celebrate. Because of Pride Satan fell as an arch Angel. Pride is not a virtue but a Sin. Those who have Pride should Repent of their sins and return to Jesus Christ. He can save you“. And he quoted Isaiah 3:9, “The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves“. Obedience to the Lord is going to cost us, folks. But there is no other way. Again I write that we cannot compromise.

Dear Father God. We pray together for the Christian Councillor who has lost so much for standing firm on Your Word. Please restore to him all that he has lost and more. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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An Afterthought

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.”
Romans 16:17-18 NLT

Paul suddenly remembered something. Probably a thought popped into his mind, put there by the still small voice of the Holy Spirit within him. And it was a very important thought, a warning even, in those days before the canon of Scripture had been established. Paul’s concern was for the integrity of the faith in the Roman believers, and he started his warning with “watch out for people”. In those days without Google and social media, without media outlets or TV, it was through travellers that news was shared, and apparently some travellers had funny ideas about the Christian faith. Such people would potentially “cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what [they] have been taught”. 

Those were the days in which the Gnostics were emerging. These people taught that salvation could be found by special knowledge, and redemption could be found within us. Gnostics believed that there is a “spark” of God within us that could be released into self-redemption where we could be freed from our corrupt body and reach God. This was a doctrine that seemed attractive to many and it was supported by a quasi-religious belief system that seemed to dovetail well into the true faith. All the characters were there, such as God and Jesus, but they bore no resemblance to the true God, and His Son Jesus who died for us at Calvary. Sadly Gnosticism is still present today, and, arguably, has emerged in the transgender ideology, which involves a person ‘escaping’ from the body they were born with and instead choosing their gender based on how they feel.

Pastor Paul was concerned about the flock in Rome, warning them to look out for people who preached ideas and doctrines counter to what they had been taught originally, about Jesus and Him crucified for their sins. These wayward preachers are just “serving their own personal interests”, he said. Perhaps they hoped to get some financial benefit from sharing their divisive messages. At the end of his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. May God’s grace be with you all (1 Timothy 6:20-21). The old Apostle John was also aware of error and wrote in 1 John 4:3, “But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here”. John also recorded what Jesus said to the church in Pergamum, “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching” (Revelation 2:14-15).

Erroneous teaching was rife in the first century, but we can’t be complacent today. There are different denominations that have doctrines or Biblical interpretations that disagree with each other. Sometimes, there is an emphasis on a particular Biblical truth to the exclusion of another. And, worse, there are church leaders in established denominations who question, dilute or abandon Biblical truths and try and absorb worldly practices into their churches. Just the other day there was a news report about a Bishop in the Anglican church who said that referring to God as “Father” was a problem, in spite of what the Bible says to the contrary. As in Paul’s day, we too must “Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what [we] have been taught“. Thankfully, in 21st Century Planet Earth, we have God’s Word, the Bible, to refer to, and as we hold fast to the Bible’s teaching we will continue to walk the path that leads to eternal life.

Father God, we thank You for Your Word and the teaching of Your Son, Jesus. Please help us to hold fast to the Holy Scriptures, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Holy Kiss

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.”
Romans‬ ‭16‬:‭16‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Here is a custom that is quite foreign to us Western types. A “holy kiss”? What is that all about? Of course we see people in other parts of the world greeting each other with something that looks like a kiss, and this was probably the case in the Middle Eastern culture of Paul’s day. But in our Western expressions of Christianity it is unusual to engage with another person, particularly someone who isn’t close to us, in this way.

There are three other mentions of a “holy kiss” in the New Testament, and all in letters written by Paul. But in those days it was no big deal, because greeting someone with a kiss was the equivalent of what a handshake would be today. It should be emphasised that this was a “holy kiss” as against one that was unholy, which would have sexual or hypocritical connotations.

Some years ago, I was in a church meeting, and at a certain point in the service we were encouraged to give each other a “holy kiss”. Inevitably there was some embarrassed giggling, and most people refused to get involved, but next to me there was a man with a beard who had no such inhibitions and without warning I was aware of this hairy chin too close to me for comfort! I know a young Christian man who has mild Asperger’s, and he cannot bear anyone touching him, so just as well he wasn’t there in that meeting.

We of course remember the account of another kiss, one that was far from being holy. We read in Luke 22:47-48, “But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”” A sad encounter and one that sealed Judas’ doom.

To those early Christians, the “holy kiss” was particularly special, because it was morally pure and blameless, and it signified love, affection and friendship. In that context we too can uphold the same principles, perhaps by taking someone’s hand or giving them a hug. After all, we are members of the greatest organisation, if we can call it that, this world has ever seen. We are united by our love for each other and our love of God. That’s surely worth a lot more than a handshake!

Dear Father God. You created us to be warm and loving beings, full of Your love and grace. Please help us to view our fellow believers as You see them. In Jesus’ name. Amen,

More Friends

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Give my greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for your benefit. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews, who were in prison with me. They are highly respected among the apostles and became followers of Christ before I did. Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, a good man whom Christ approves. And give my greetings to the believers from the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet the Lord’s people from the household of Narcissus. Give my greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, the Lord’s workers, and to dear Persis, who has worked so hard for the Lord. Greet Rufus, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own; and also his dear mother, who has been a mother to me. Give my greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who meet with them. Give my greetings to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and to Olympas and all the believers who meet with them.”
Romans‬ ‭16‬:‭6‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A long list of the names of Paul’s friends. There were 23 people that Paul commended in these verses; actually 25 because the mother of Rufus wasn’t named and neither was the sister of Nereus. But to be given a mention in a letter by the Apostle Paul was praise indeed, and this list of names has survived long after the owners of the names have. These people were all active church workers who were even, as Adronicus and Junia were, prepared to go to prison for their faith. A wonderful legacy of real and living Christians, and one day we will have the opportunity to ask them about how they got on with Paul, and about their faith in the First Century. But behind all these names there would have been many good church folks, working away for Jesus below the radar.

The message from these verses for us pilgrims can be summed up in the phrases such as “worked hard” and “highly respected”, “Christ approves”, “the Lord picked out” and so on. These are  believers who were sold out for Jesus. No wishy-washy Christians here! These dear folks built a solid foundation upon which the church was built. They were prepared to suffer for their faith, and by doing so they established the Church that Jesus spoke to Peter about in Matthew 16:18, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it“. These early Christians were bomb proof and nothing the devil hurled at them had any impact. That is the inspiration for the Church today. Forces have been unleashed against Christians here in the UK over recent years, and secularism and left wing and anti-God ideologies are emerging, intent on destroying Christians in any way they can. But like the dear people listed in Paul’s letter, we will stand firm and use the weapons that God has supplied for us, and as listed in Ephesians 6. There is no going back. 

There is an old hymn that I haven’t sung for many years, but the verse 3 lyrics are:
Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
Stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you;
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armour,
And, watching unto prayer,
Where duty calls, or danger,
Be never wanting there.

We used to belt it out in church, never thinking that in the years coming, it would be so appropriate.

Father God. We pray for the same strength and single-mindedness that those early Christians had. Please help us in our battles against the evil one. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Priscilla and Aquila

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epenetus. He was the first person from the province of Asia to become a follower of Christ.”
Romans 16:3-5 NLT

‭The next people on Paul’s list of friends to be mentioned were Priscilla and Aquila. This lovely couple first emerge in Acts 18. Aquila was a Jewish Christian and he ended up in Corinth with his wife, Priscilla, after Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. For a trade they were tentmakers, so it was natural for Paul, also a tentmaker, to meet up with them when he came to Corinth. Some time later we read that Paul set sail for Ephesus taking Aquila and Priscilla with him. The Jewish couple stayed in Ephesus and met up with another Jew called Apollos, who they helped with their knowledge of Jesus, when Paul moved on. The details of this couple in Acts 18 are sparse, but reading between the lines, we can find a Godly husband and wife who were pivotal in the foundations of the early church. In 1 Corinthians 16:19, we read, “The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings“. The church in their home was also mentioned by Paul in his letter to the Roman believers – “Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home”. Priscilla and Aquila also crop up in 2 Timothy 4:19, “Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and those living in the household of Onesiphorus.” At this time, Timothy was the pastor of the Ephesus church.

So what conclusion can we draw from the brief Biblical mentions of Aquila and Priscilla? They were Godly, with a solid faith, and a gift of hospitality, three traits that it would be good for us pilgrims to emulate. For them to get a mention about the “church that meets in their home” meant that something significant happened there. The concept of home groups, or how churches, is nothing new today, and . we can read about the early believers in Acts 2:46, “They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity“. Home churches were a feature of the early church and they are a model which supplements the more formal services held in a church building. The intimacy of meeting with other Christians in someone’s home is an essential part of the life of a fellowship of believers. 

If we pilgrims only meet other Christians every Sunday, then perhaps it is an opportunity to copy the model set for us by Aquila and Priscilla. Why don’t we open up our homes for other Christians to meet with us? We will soon find that the Holy Spirit in our midst will lead us into a new dimension of fellowship.

Father God, we thank You that You assured us that when two or three meet together, You are there with us. So in our meeting together, we pray for Your love and grace to multiply and overspill into our families and communities. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Phoebe

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon in the church in Cenchrea. Welcome her in the Lord as one who is worthy of honour among God’s people. Help her in whatever she needs, for she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.”
Romans 16:1-2 NLT

The last chapter in Romans starts with the names of Paul’s friends, with each of them accompanied by some words extolling their virtues. First on the list is a lady called Phoebe. Paul records her role in the Cenchrean church, located in a town a few miles from Corinth on the coast. She was obviously a benefactor of Paul along with others and was doing an important job in her local church. The fact that Paul was asking that she should be welcomed by the Roman believers indicated that she was to travel there at some time. Perhaps she was the bearer of his letter, accompanying others from the Corinthian church, where Paul was assumed to have written the letter to the Romans. We wonder if Phoebe was perhaps a business woman, so she might have been using a trip to Rome to further her business interests. 

Paul introduced Phoebe as being a deacon, a Greek word meaning no more than servant. But her ministry of helping others was worthy of a title. And as we should with all of our visiting Christian brothers and sisters, Paul asked that she would be given a special welcome, and given any assistance she required, as she has helped others. 

Not much here for us pilgrims today, we might think, but it’s the principle of being a servant in our churches, helping those around us that comes across. Phoebe was an example to her church, and, because Paul recorded her name in his letter, she has been providing the same example down through the ages. If our ministers and pastors were writing a letter like Paul, would we get a mention like Phoebe? Of course that would not be something that we would expect, but in our churches and fellowships we should all be “deacons” or servants. Sadly, too many people who go to a church service are irregular in their attendance, and do little or nothing to help others when they are there. It is often said that 80% of the necessary work is done by 10% of the people.

So we pilgrims should aspire to be male or female Phoebe’s, using our resources, our time, skills and money, to help those around us. It may be inconvenient at times but it is our calling. Jesus set the scene for us in His act of washing His disciples feet. Jesus said, as recorded in John 13:14-15, “And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you”. Was Phoebe a foot-washer? Probably. But we pilgrims today should certainly have the same attitude that Jesus had, in His service to His disciples.

So we pilgrims must look out for one another, and try and outdo each other when it comes to acts of service in our local church or fellowship. Contrary to common custom, the church minister is not responsible for doing all the tasks in the church. If the building belongs to the church that meets there, then there will be plenty of opportunities to do a Phoebe. And what we do is done as to the Lord. Recently I attended a service in Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh, and after the service I was down in the gents bathroom where I found a young man mopping the floor and singing his heart out. I said to him that he sounded happy. He said of course, I’m doing this for Jesus. What a lovely attitude. Surely a young man “worthy of honour among God’s people”.

Dear Father God. We too sing for Jesus, because of what He did for us. Thank You. Amen.

God’s Peace

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.”
Romans 15:33 NLT

This verse, the last in Romans 15, is almost as though it’s Paul signing off from his long letter. He’s said all he wants to say and this is his “Yours sincerely” moment, or something similar but less formal. It’s the sort of statement that would be made by a minister at the end of a church meeting, before walking to the exit door to say his goodbyes. And it’s not unusual for Christians to say to someone on the way out of our home, “May God be with you”. On my business card I have included the verses from Numbers 6:24-26, “May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favour and give you his peace.”

But two things emerge from this verse, Romans 15:33. Paul asked that God was with all his readers. Why would he say that because God is with all His followers. It is in fact a form of greeting with which he encourages the Roman believers. In those days of severe persecution, knowing that God was with them would have brought a smile to their faces. It would have reassured them that their trials were all worth going through because God was alive and well. Isaiah 41:13 was a verse with which the Jewish exiles were similarly encouraged. They too were going through a difficult time in a land where they didn’t want to be. We read, “For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you”. Whatever situation we pilgrims are in just now, we too can be encouraged by the reminder that God is with us.

The second piece of encouragement from Paul was the reminder that God is the Source of our peace.  In John 14:27 we read Jesus’ words about peace. He said, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid”. A Christian isn’t so much concerned about peace in its worldly sense. We might of course pray for peace, and particularly about the war in Ukraine. But the peace Jesus was referring to was something far more important and beneficial. It describes the peace we have with God because we are in a right relationship with Him. As our bodies, souls and spirits line up with God and His ways, we find that we are experiencing a precious gift from God. Jesus taught about it. Paul reminded the Roman believers about it, and we experience it too. In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul wrote about some practical help to those who are anxious and worried. He wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”. The remedy for the sickness of worry is firstly prayer, and then thankfulness, leading to “peace of mind and heart”. 

Just a few words at the end of Romans 15 would have had a profound impact on the readers of Paul’s long letter of teaching and encouragement. We too can read these words, perhaps at the end of a day, as we head into a night of restful slumber, secure in God’s peace.

Dear Father God. We thank You for Your real and precious presence with us. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Pray for Paul

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem. Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other.”
Romans 15:30-32 NLT

Paul writes that he needs prayer. He firstly asks for his readers to join his “struggle” by praying for him. What “struggle” was it that he was experiencing? As we read through Paul’s experiences in the book of Acts, we see a struggle emerging between the wonderful things, miracles of healings and so on, that God was doing through Paul, and the forces of the enemy doing their utmost to shut Paul down. People were being saved in droves, churches were being established, lives were being transformed. It’s no wonder he was experiencing a “struggle”. But he wasn’t so complacent that he failed, humbly, to request prayer. We read in James 5:16, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results“. It wasn’t just James that knew the truth of the power of prayer. Paul was very much aware of it as well. 

Paul appealed to the Roman believers’ love for him, which he knew had been given to them through the Holy Spirit. God’s love is truly amazing, because it cuts right across distance, ethnicity, social standing, and everything else that would otherwise divide believers. The love that prefers the needs of another person over our own. The love that penetrates even the most insensitive of human hearts. And the love spawned by the Holy Spirit in their very beings motivated them to pray earnestly for Paul. 

A specific need that Paul had was for safety from the attacks he expected would develop against him when he reached Jerusalem. And that was a very real threat, as we read in Acts 23:20-21, “Paul’s nephew told him [the commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem], “Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul before the high council tomorrow, pretending they want to get some more information. But don’t do it! There are more than forty men hiding along the way ready to ambush him. They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent“”. But as we know, as the story unfolded in Acts 23, Paul was indeed kept safe, so their prayers were answered.

Lastly, Paul asked for prayer that the donation from the Macedonians that he was taking to Jerusalem would be accepted by the believers there. It would have been a bitter-sweet gift for the believers of Jewish origin, that Gentiles in another place were supplying their needs. So Paul’s prayer was that there would be no proud rejection due to the Jew/Gentile divide.

Paul finished these two verses with the conclusion that once the prayers had been offered up on his behalf, he would be able to journey to Rome with a joyful heart, knowing his job in Jerusalem was done.

We pilgrims also have prayer needs. But how often do we continue to suffer in silence, too proud to ask for prayer? We continue to experience pains and aches, dosing ourselves with various pills and potions, when what we should do is pick up the phone and call a Christian friend, asking for prayer. Or we may be facing into family or work issues that are driving us to distraction. Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done“. We pray for our needs and worries and involve our brothers and sisters as Paul did. We can never pray too much!

Father God. We know that prayer changes things. Please forgive us for neglecting Your Heavenly hotline when we have needs. We know that you hear our prayers and the prayers of our brothers and sisters. Thank You. Amen.

Blessings Together

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain. And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together.”
Romans 15:28-29 NLT

Paul was looking forward to meeting with the believers in Rome and sharing a time of rich blessings. And not just a normal fellowship time, but one which would be “richly bless[ed]” by Christ. There is something special that will happen when Christians meet together. The common belief and faith in God draws Christians from all walks of life, even different ethnicities, together in a rich fellowship. It’s because God, through His grace and mercy, has forgiven us for all our sins. The coming together as believers is a foretaste of what will happen one day when we are all in Heaven. Joined together in perfect fellowship, as we all worship God together.

Gavin Calver, the CEO of the Evangelical Alliance, shared recently that he and 22 of his fellow church members went for a Men’s curry night earlier this year. The owner of the restaurant was intrigued, because there were 15 different nationalities and an age range from 16 to 80 represented in the group. He concluded that they must all be Christians because there was no other organisation that could unite such a diverse group of men. Christians, when they fellowship together, are immediately noticed. And if Christ is in the midst there is no stopping the impact it will have on the world around us.

How do we pilgrims feel when we are around other Christians? Is it something we look forward to, or is it a chore that we have to endure? This is where the “one another’s” comes into play. We read in Romans 12:10 (AMP), “Be devoted to one another with [authentic] brotherly affection [as members of one family], give preference to one another in honour“. Sometimes we find it difficult to work this out in practice, particularly if there is a person we cannot stand. But often God takes us into situations where He is wearing away the rough edges and prejudices that we carry with us, preparing us for the life to come. We read in 1 Peter 2:5, “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God“. We have to remember that the analogy Peter used about being built as living stones in a temple is very apt and accurate. We are not bricks, factory produced and all exactly the same. We are unique and individual “stones” and to enable us to fit to the next “stone”, some rough edges might have to be chipped away. Of course we would much prefer God to use His hammer and chisel on the next “stone” but most of the time we discover that it is in fact our rough edges that he removes.

So rather than shy away from others in our churches, we should seek out the “one another’s”, always looking for opportunities for fellowship. And by doing so we will indeed find the rich blessings that Paul wrote about.

Dear Father God. In Your master plan, You are building is into a spiritual temple to Your glory. Rather than fight it, please help us to submit to Your loving reshaping. In Jesus’ name. Amen.