6/13/17
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
We often seem to have trouble leaving someone’s past in the past. The initial reactions to Sul of Tarsus, now a Christian, were no exception. He was known to the Christians as the man who would imprison them. Yet now, in Acts 9:19-22, he was in the synagogues, telling people that Jesus was the Lord, the Son of God. What’s more, he was persuading them!
This led to considerable doubt. Was he simply trying to persuade people that he was safe, then he would entrap them? There’s a valid caution. When dealing with recent converts who are teaching, we naturally want to be careful. There may be rough edges. There may be false teaching, either on purpose or by accident. It is appropriate to weigh the teaching we receive carefully.
By the same token, when we introduce historic Christianity to a post-Christian culture which knows and cares little about history, it may take a long time for others to embrace the ideas. That is perfectly understandable. It is difficult to deal with radical changes.
Eventually the Christians in Damascus began to believe that Saul was trustworthy. They saw that he was telling them the truth. They began accepting his truth claim that Jesus was in fact the Christ. This brought them forgiveness, life, and salvation. It’s worth the work. It’s worth the wait.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
We often seem to have trouble leaving someone’s past in the past. The initial reactions to Sul of Tarsus, now a Christian, were no exception. He was known to the Christians as the man who would imprison them. Yet now, in Acts 9:19-22, he was in the synagogues, telling people that Jesus was the Lord, the Son of God. What’s more, he was persuading them!
This led to considerable doubt. Was he simply trying to persuade people that he was safe, then he would entrap them? There’s a valid caution. When dealing with recent converts who are teaching, we naturally want to be careful. There may be rough edges. There may be false teaching, either on purpose or by accident. It is appropriate to weigh the teaching we receive carefully.
By the same token, when we introduce historic Christianity to a post-Christian culture which knows and cares little about history, it may take a long time for others to embrace the ideas. That is perfectly understandable. It is difficult to deal with radical changes.
Eventually the Christians in Damascus began to believe that Saul was trustworthy. They saw that he was telling them the truth. They began accepting his truth claim that Jesus was in fact the Christ. This brought them forgiveness, life, and salvation. It’s worth the work. It’s worth the wait.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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