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The Apostle Paul had a trump card he could play. He was a Roman citizen by birth and as such could not be arbitrarily bound up or scourged or treated with brutality like those who were not citizens.
What’s interesting to me is that Paul didn’t always play his trump card. Of course he did in Acts 22 when the Roman Tribune, Claudius Lysias, was about to have him “scourged”. But in Acts 16 he didn’t. He allowed himself stripped of his clothes, beaten with rods, thrown into prison and bound in the “stocks”. All he had to do to prevent all of that was to say the simple words… “I’m a Roman citizen”.
So on one occasion he played his trump card and on another occasion he did not. I wonder why?
Let me suggest this, in Acts 16, Paul needed to be beat up and imprisoned so the Philippian Jailor and his family could be saved. He gave up his rights as a Roman citizen and allowed himself to be brutally beaten so he could save a man and his family.
In Acts 22 he had another mission that required him to use his rights as a Roman citizen. His mission was to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ to the Roman Caesar and a simple Jew could not do that. Only a Roman citizen could.
Sometimes it’s good to use our rights but at other times we need to give them up and the determining factor in that decision making process is which choice advances the cause of Christ? Choose wisely.
I don’t know when my mom started getting old but one day I noticed her moving slower and being quieter and just kind of being content being in the back ground and that’s not my mom. Since that time I find myself thinking about her all the time and dreading the day that I won’t have her anymore. I guess that realization has caused some changes in me. I find myself calling her a lot more. I found out she talked on the phone to her sister every day so I decided what’s important to mom is also important to me so now one of my routines is to call aunt Missie on a regular basis and visit with her. I’ve learned a lot about my mom from her sister.
Aunt Missie told me the other day that mom was the smartest of the three siblings. When I told mom that she said no aunt Missie is the smartest… they love each other. I feel sorry for which ever one lives the longest. There is no joy in being the last one alive.
The other day Mom was down visiting and after supper she was in the kitchen helping clean up and my oldest grandchild (5 years old in a month) went in to the kitchen and told her “grandma, come play with us … we hardly ever get to see you”. Then on the way home Victoria asked my son and his wife where my mom lived and could she maybe come to Corpus Christi and live with them. I can’t tell you how much I love my granddaughter for making my mother feel so loved.
I am who I am today because my mother is who she is and I know that fact well. There will be a day when she’s gone and I can’t see her anymore or talk to her or share things with her but until that day comes I’m going to make the rest of her days as special as I can. Thanks Mom for everything.
There’s an old joke I love to tell about what the smallest sin in the Bible is. It falls flat on people with superficial Bible knowledge so I usually like to tell it to those who seem to have an in depth knowledge of the Bible… Preachers and church goers and such-like. Oh yeah, the punch line? “Flea fornication”… that is small, very small.
The reality is that the sin of fornication is huge in the Bible. It is constantly spoken against… much more than murder for instance. The reason? Because it is so prevalent in all generations of people.
Sexual intercourse is, of course, a very pleasurable activity. However, it has its greatest pleasure when it is set aside as a special thing, an intimacy that is reserved for a very special person… a spouse.
For some people sexual intercourse is like shaking hands… they’ll shake hands with anyone and it becomes so common that it loses its true value. It even has different names to make it sound better like “we’re together” and a “trial marriage”. You can call it whatever you want to. God calls it fornication and punishes people for it.
Let fleas fornicate… the rest of us should flee from it.
As Christians we are in a gigantic Chess game playing for the souls of others. When we are trying to help some lost individual who reaches out to us and along the course of the “game” they respond with anger or rejection we are all too ready to give up and think… game over I did my best and they rejected my pearls of wisdom they are pigs and I’m a true son of God.
When the reality is that Satan has blocked our “Pawn” with a “Castle” and the game is still on and we still have numerous plays and still have the most powerful player on the board… the “Queen”.
In the battle for lost souls don’t be defeated by rejection, insults or perceived slights. Those are Satan’s weapons and against a seasoned warrior for Christ are weak… unless we make them bigger than they are. We’re in a big Chess game with Satan. Make a move. Just because Satan takes your pawn doesn’t mean the game is over.
I spend a lot of time thinking about the Parable of The Talents. You know the story. A master entrusts a quantity of money to three men (the amount depending on his assessment of their abilities) and then goes on a trip. When he gets back he finds that the top two employees performed very well but the hapless “one talent man” buried his money so he wouldn’t lose any of it and make his master mad. Of course those familiar with the story know that this hapless individual was severely punished for his ineptitude.
Today I was thinking about the one talent man and realized this, that one of his big problems was laziness. LAZINESS! While the other two were working and planning on how to make more money for their master their fellow worker just buried his and sat around. Perhaps never thinking… I’ll dig up a little bit of this money and buy hammers for $2 each and see if I can get $3 each for them. He was lazy just sitting around and doing nothing.
The Lord doesn’t like lazy people. He didn’t like them when the Bible was written and he doesn’t like them now. The Lord assesses our abilities and makes an investment in us. Everyone has some level of ability. No one gets a free pass. Don’t be lazy. Use your abilities so when you meet up with God he will smile at you and give you a big hug.
As human beings we understand that we have a limited number of days to live upon this earth. As servants (employees) of God we understand that those days should be spent working for God. So at the beginning of a new day an assessment should be made about how we performed for God on the previous day and a plan should be made for the new day.
The previous day’s assessment should include; did I actively violate any of God’s commandments, i.e. did I sin? The assessment should also include some thought about the casual social interaction we have with other people. In my social interaction did I represent my employer (God) in a positive way? Was I kind, helpful, encouraging etc. In addition, how did I do in my planned social interaction? Which brings us to this… planning the new day.
Since we have a finite number of days on earth, each one of them is precious and should be devoted in some form or fashion to the Lord. For example, today I’m going to visit someone who is lonely, a home bound widow, a sick person, etc. Today I’m going to encourage someone who is neglecting their abilities. Today I’m going to repair a broken relationship. Today I’m going to interact and get to know someone at church who I only know on a handshake basis (a handshake friend). Today I’m going to help a poor person.
Things are done by littles and as those little things that we do day by day build up they become a huge monument to God. Plan and assess your days or otherwise you may wake up at the end of your day and realize you’ve only accumulated a bunch of wasted days.
Yesterday I posted a photo on Facebook of my brother Greg and some of his church friends when they were teenagers. Almost immediately one of those friends posted the comment “thanks Rob” and sent me a private message with his phone number and to please call him.
When I called him he said Rob I need your help and encouragement I’m having a hard time going back to church and haven’t been in a few months. He continued, you were the oldest of our group and i know you can help me.
You see David was very close to our family. He named his son after my brother Greg. During the conversation he told me the two greatest men he had ever known was his Dad and my Dad. My parents were like his parents. The photo shows four young people about to start their adult lives but somewhere along the way David had made soon poor choices and suffered the consequences of those choices and now with a broken home, broken life and broken health was looking for some help.
I told David that I believed in him and loved him and that he had a wonderful story he could share with others and so he needed to make a better effort to attend assemblies of Christ not only for his own spiritual health but to also help the spiritual health of others through the story of his life. I told him that we have a great enemy and depression is one of his greatest weapons.
I know this if I know anything you don’t spend a whole lot of time in that vicious cycle of depression if you are more worried about others than yourself.
He also told me that he wants me to call and check on him on a regular basis to call him every Monday morning and hold him accountable. He knows that he can’t do it by himself and I suppose thats one of the reasons Christ died to establish his people the church. So they can help each other.
Shortly after that conversation I texted Greg, Scott and Mark and told them that we need to team up to help our lost brother. I’ve already built a text message group to help with that.
All this started with the simple posting of a photo on Facebook.
As I look at my life I see that God is always listening to my prayers and like paying close attention to me. I need your prayers for our missing brother. We have a powerful God.
