marym2b

How does it encourage you to know that Paul went through tremendous stress and pressure? We must remember that Paul first appears in Acts as one involved in the stoning of Stephen, then in connection with the more wide-scale persecution against the first Christians that broke out in Jerusalem. As a devout Jew who was taught all his life about the importance of the law and about the soon coming political redemption of Israel, the idea of the long waited Messiah being executed like the worst of criminals was just too much for him to tolerate. Their claims that the crucified Jesus was the Messiah and that he had risen from the dead were, he believed, rank apostasy! With this in mind, Paul was determined to be God's agent to rid Israel of these believes. Hence, He first appears in the pages of scripture as a violent persecutor of his fellow Jews, those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. God, however, had different plans for Saul. Plans that he never could have anticipated for himself. Not only was this Jew going to preach Jesus as the Messiah, he was going to do it among the gentiles! God now placed Paul on the other side of the fence...Paul could have resisted God's call, but at that moment he was convicted of his error and convicted that Jesus was the Messiah and he accepted God's call to preach the gospel of Jesus at the cost of being persecuted. He became a disciple of Jesus at that moment. Now, we as disciples of Jesus are called to preach the gospel to the unbelievers even if we know that we will experience persecution! How many of us are willing to experience the sufferings of Paul for His mane's sake! This are the kind of sufferings we are talking about here! Remember what Matthew 24:9 says; "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake". Have we developed this kind of faith yet? Do we know and love Jesus enough to choose to endure this kind of persecution in the last days? which as far as I know, I can see the signs of the time being fulfilled before my own eyes! It is true that we develop faith and patience in the mist of trials and afflictions, which we will need in the last days more than ever before. But in Paul's case, it was his zeal for God that took him both to persecute the Christians first when he was in error, and cause them to suffer; then to give himself in to being persecuted at the cost of severe trials and sufferings. I am encouraged and inspired by Paul's example to develop that kind zeal and passion that he had for the gospel, for Jesus, and for souls for the kingdom! Blessings to all.

Hello everyone, My name is Mary. I love to study the Bible! I'm looking forward to learning, sharing the truth, growing and preparing for the soon return of Jesus.