Hello, folks.
It’s a nice day out there—intermittent clouds, but no rain. I see that Spring has basically sprung with the burst of blossoms on our flowering plum tree. I also heard the welcome evidence of robin songs early this morning.
We impulsively took in the movie last night, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE. It was good. I’ll even recommend it.
The devotional composition below is a re-run from 2012. I didn’t have sufficient fresh inspiration to think I could improve on it.
Have a great rest of your day. Love and prayers. Ray.
Who gave up? Luke and the other disciples at Caesarea gave up.
What did they give up? They gave up trying to dissuade Paul from continuing on to Jerusalem since the Spirit was revealing to so many that he would face arrest and a heap of trouble there.
Why did they give up? Because Paul was such a stubborn hard-head—so insistent on going to Jerusalem, no matter what. I think part of it was related to that vow Paul took when he had his head shaved (Acts 18:18), and it would just be too much of a violation of his conscience to go back on it. If so, I can relate to that.
Is there a lesson here for us? I think so. I think the disciples did the right thing by giving up. They appropriately shared their concerns and opinions. But then they backed off and let go and said, “The Lord’s will be done.” And I think the Lord’s will was done, and would be done, one way or another—even if Paul didn’t go to Jerusalem. Why? Because Paul, and those associated with him, loved God and were basically responding to His call in the best way they knew. They were living to serve and please Him. Don’t miss this point. That’s the vital material God needs to make all things work out right that may otherwise work out wrong. That’s the wonderful promise I see in Romans 8:28. Please read (or quote) it again. This means to me that it is quite OK to be a stubborn hard-head in some matters as long as it is accompanied by a stubborn love for God.
I like Luke. He’s the kind of a friend you’d be benefited to have. Although he didn’t agree with Paul’s decision to carry on to Jerusalem for obvious reasons, he didn’t abandon Paul. He carried on with him, loyal to the end. Paul’s letter of 2 Timothy was written close to the end of Paul’s life. He was a prisoner in Rome at the time—the result of this last fateful trip to Jerusalem. Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 4:11, “Only Luke is with me.” That’s very noteworthy to me. Luke gave up on his opinion, but he didn’t give up on Paul. Nor did he give up on trusting God for the outcome.
“The World crowns success. God crowns faithfulness.”