Tag Archives: Rome

ROMANS…PLANS – 26a

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“But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul had plans! Rome was in his sights. For many years he had laboured in Asia Minor, moving on to Europe but always with his eye on Rome, the capital city and hub of the Roman Empire. Why Rome? 

Rome was where everything started and ended…the imperial city, the seat of government…power and control. If Paul could preach the gospel in Rome, especially as close to the seat of power as possible, perhaps the influence of the gospel in high places could change the way God’s people were being treated. The message of Jesus would spread out from Rome in all directions, carried by His followers to every city and town in the empire. 

Of course, Paul had no idea that God also has plans for Rome…not the way that Paul anticipated but through his imprisonment in the very precincts of the emperor himself. Paul’s longing to go to Rome would be fully satisfied and even the means to travel there, not supplied by the church in Rome as he thought, but at government expense! Not only would he get free passage to Rome but he would be housed in the palace itself, albeit imprisoned and chained to a Roman guard…a captive audience if ever there was one!

Paul was incorrigible. Even in his darkest moments, he found joy in what God was doing through his pain. He saw light in the darkness. Every trial was God’s opportunity to further the spread of the good news of salvation through Jesus. Paul was dispensable for the sake of the gospel…and he rejoiced in being the vessel God used to pour out His love on a broken world. 

“And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives…But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬-‭15‬, ‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul acknowledged, in his  last letter to Timothy, that he would never escape from the clutches of the emperor. His time was up…but he was prepared. 

“As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul anticipated his death with joy. Death held no terror for him…but only the prospect of meeting his Lord face-to-face and receiving from Him his reward…and for those who served Him faithfully. 

“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

With an attitude like that, how can anyone lose? 

Paul’s circumstances, uncomfortable as they were…could not dampen his joy. His letter to the Philippians,  written from a Roman prison to one of his favourite churches, was the most joyful of all his letters…full of gratitude for the people who loved, prayed, and served him faithfully, and for the place where God had planted him to shine in the darkness. 

Despite Paul’s discomfort and the prospect of execution, he didn’t flinch. He turned his suffering into celebration. Yes, he had experienced his portion of hardships…physical, financial, and even spiritual. Yes, he had even pleaded with God for release from his struggles…but…instead of becoming bitter and resentful, he had learned…what?

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on hardly anything or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

With Jesus at the core of his being, giving him the power to overcome, Paul has learned to treat his circumstances as irrelevant. Not that he didn’t experience difficulties and trials, but that they made no difference to his inner life. The three most important and significant attributes of Jesus, lost to the human race at the Fall, but bequeathed and restored to His disciples on the eve of His death…His love, His joy, and His peace…held him steady and immovable. 

A story on YouTube deeply moved me. An African American woman gave this testimony…after her husband and two sons were shot dead at the bus stop, waiting for the school bus, her response was…“Let’s have church!”

Can we, like Paul, express our trust in Jesus with such conviction that we can say, in the darkest times of suffering…”Let’s have church!”?…and really mean it?

Pain and sorrow are real but…Jesus’ joy can carry us through, if we see Him…above and beyond our earthly suffering…as always with us and always working, in all things, for our good and for His glory. 

To be continued

ACTS THE SEQUEL…AND SO WE CAME TO ROME – 64

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“After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.

“From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭11‬-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After the months of upheaval…danger, rescue, fear, and relief…and miraculous intervention… the end of the voyage seemed tame. The weather was fine, the sea calm, the journey completed uneventfully…thankfully, no more drama…. “And so we came to Rome…”

…but…what lay ahead for Paul in Rome? This was no holiday interval for him. He was there to face the music for “crimes” cooked up against him by religious fanatics in his homeland. What did Caesar Nero know about Jewish scruples…religious bickering over laws and rituals and regulations? For Nero, Paul was far more dangerous. In Paul’s hand lay Nero’s very status as Lord of the empire. 

Paul was preaching another king …and he was good at it. Many across the empire had changed allegiance…and Nero was not happy. 

Perhaps, for this Roman despot whose every whim was to be carried out, this was an opportunity to take out this rival who was messing with his authority.  It was reported that Paul had “turned the world upside down” with his message that “Jesus is Lord”. Many thousands across the empire had believed his message, creating communities that worshiped Jesus instead of Caesar. 

For Nero, this was treason. So, inadvertently, Paul had fallen into his hands, and he would deal appropriately with him.

However, God also had a plan…and Rome was firmly in the middle of it. There was already a community of believers in the capital city. The message had already reached Rome.

Paul had written his superb letter to this congregation, giving the Christians a thorough understanding of the righteousness of God in all the facets of His glorious salvation. Now, after many years of longing and planning, he was here in person…a prisoner, yes, but still here to do whatever he could to strengthen the faith and understanding of the believers. 

At first, Rome treated him well. Believers met him and welcomed him on his way. 

“There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How glad they were to see him, to have him with them at last, to be able to talk to and listen to this illustrious missionary through whom the message of salvation had spread throughout the known world. 

Even his captors treated him well at first. 

“When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Free, but under house arrest, Paul continued to do what he did best. First, he called together the leaders of the Jewish community to give his defence. As usual, some believed his story, others rejected him. And so, once again, he turned his attention to the Gentiles. 

“Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans…

”They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: “ ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭17‬, ‭25‬-‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

For two years, Paul was free to minister to the people who came to him. For two years, this man of God, this seasoned missionary…restricted as he was in his rented house…preached, taught, and lived the kingdom of God and the message of Jesus. He used the time to think, pray, and write, to communicate some of the wonderful truths he had learned on his journey of many years with Jesus to congregations he had  founded in Europe and Asia Minor. 

God was so in this plan to free his servant to record, both in the lives of the people he met then and the letters he wrote, the words of God we now have preserved in the covers of this divinely-inspired book. 

Luke’s record of the early church and its story ends on a note of victory. Paul might be a prisoner of the state…and yet the Word of God was unfettered. People like him might come and go but the kingdom of God goes on, carried in the hearts and passed on from generation to generation by those who are witnesses of Jesus. 

The books of Acts is beginning of a never-ending story. No matter how much the world might try to destroy the people and the book that carry God’s kingdom forward, this is God’s story and He will finish what He started. 

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

THE BOOK OF ACTS – THE ETERNAL CITY AT LAST !

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THE ETERNAL CITY AT LAST!

“Then we came to Rome. Friends in Rome heard we were on the way and came out to meet us. One group got as far as Appian Court; another group met us at Three Taverns — emotion-packed meetings, as you can well imagine. Paul, brimming over with praise, led us in prayers of thanksgiving. When we actually entered Rome, they let Paul live in his own private quarters with a soldier who had been assigned to guard him.” Acts 28:14-16 (The Message).

Rome at last! The Eternal City, and what a welcome! One would have thought he was a returning hero and not a jailbird on his way to trial.

He certainly was a hero in the eyes of his friends. He was a well-known figure all over the empire. These friends, no doubt, were some of his converts, or converts of converts who had either moved to Rome or were introduced to Jesus through believers who had visited Rome at some time.

His welcome was so riotous that one can imagine a red carpet, with banners and streamers all over the streets — not that it actually happened! The centurion and soldiers must have marvelled at Paul’s popularity. The Christian quarter had been buzzing with the news that Paul was coming to Rome. They had no need of snail mail, e-mail, sms’s, satellite TV news or any of the modern forms of communication. Word of mouth was just as effective when an important person was coming!

They turned out in numbers and in relays to welcome him and show him love and support in his awkward situation. The centurion and soldiers were not his guard; they were his guard-of-honour to herald his arrival in Rome. One would almost have expected Nero himself to be part of Paul’s entourage!

What was the mood among his beloved friends? Joy and celebration! Hugs and tears! For many of them it was the first time they had seen his face, but they knew him so well that they would have recognised him anywhere. His letter to the Roman church was in their hearts, no doubt by now copied and re-copied, carefully preserved and highly treasured for its rich teaching and tender exhortations.

Paul was overwhelmed by their loving and enthusiastic welcome. Forgotten were the years of languishing in prison, the uncertainty of his future, the hardships of the voyage, the peril of the storm and the terrifying experience of being flung into the icy waters of the Mediterranean Sea. His heart was flooded with joy and gratitude. His God was faithful — guiding him safely to Rome.

How long he had wanted and planned to visit Rome, but not this way! Nevertheless he was secure in his Father’s perfect will, and that was a cause for rejoicing. With his feet firmly on Italian soil and surrounded by his friends, he lifted his soul to God in an outpouring of gratitude and praise.

This was the environment of Paul’s life. Praise! Beat him, stone him, throw him in jail; Paul prayed! Buffet him in a stormy sea, fling him into the deep, pound him with mountainous waves; Paul praised! Chain him up to a Roman guard, bring him face-to-face with death; Paul rejoiced! Wherever he went, he was surrounded by an aura of joy.

It was out of his history of trouble and suffering that he built his portfolio of God’s grace. How else would he have been able to share his unshakeable conviction that nothing could separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus? Whatever encouragement, whatever exhortation you may read in any of his letters, you may be sure that he wrote out of deep personal experience.

This life into which we have entered through faith in Christ is a marathon of testing, an obstacle course of opportunity to overcome self, sin and the world, and to be put on display, as Paul was, as proof of the glory of our God. A praising heart is the evidence that we, like Paul, know whom we have believed, and are convinced that He is able to guard what we have entrusted to Him for that day. (2 Timothy 1:12b).

THE BOOK OF ACTS – DID GOD MESS UP?

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DID GOD MESS UP?

“But Agrippa did answer: ‘Keep this up much longer and you’ll make a Christian out of me!’

“Paul, still in chains, said, ‘That’s what I’m praying for, whether now or later, and not only you but everyone listening today, to become like me — except, of course, for this prison jewellery!’

“The king and the governor, along with Bernice and their advisors, got up and went into the next room to talk over what they had heard. They quickly agreed on Paul’s innocence, saying, ‘There’s nothing in this man deserving prison, let alone death.’

“Agrippa told Festus, ‘He could be set free right now if he hadn’t requested a hearing before Caesar.'” Acts 26:28-32 (The Message).

What frustration! Why did Paul have to go and appeal for a hearing before Caesar? He could have walked out of there that day a free man. He was jumping from the frying pan into the fire! Caesar meant Nero! Nero meant God-hater, crazy, bully, murderer! What justice would he receive from him, especially when there was no legitimate charge against him?

Had God made a mistake this time? The timing of Agrippa’s visit could have been changed. Why did he not visit during Felix’s governorship and hear Paul’s case then? If only! If only! It sounds so familiar, doesn’t it? Do we not react like that when we land up in a frustrating situation that could have been so different if only…?

It all depends on whose viewpoint we take. God said to Paul, ‘Rome!’ Because it was part of his package Paul said, ‘Yes, Lord!’ This was no surprise to him. The fact that he was declared innocent after his appeal did not frustrate him like it is frustrating us. No, He didn’t mess up. God’s plan was right on track — Rome at Rome’s expense because God wanted Paul to stand before Nero.

But, why Nero?  God knew very well that Nero would never respond positively to Paul’s message. In fact, He knew that Nero would condemn Paul to death! He should have sent Paul scurrying in the other direction, as far from Nero as he could possibly get. But that is not God’s way. He was not out to save Paul’s bacon. Nero had to be given the opportunity to make his choice, just as Felix, Festus and Agrippa and all the august assembly that heard Paul that day.

This is the mystery of God’s ways. Although he did not know it, in Paul’s package was a violent death at the hands of a cruel and unscrupulous king. But in the mercy of God, He had to give Nero an opportunity to hear the truth about Jesus and make a decision which would affect his eternal destiny and Paul was the one He chose to do it.

As far as Paul was concerned, he had accepted without reservation his package for life, no matter what it held for him. He died on the day he met Jesus. His life was no longer his to control. He belonged to Another and he was at His beck and call to carry out His command.

Think of the benefits to every succeeding generation of Paul’s incarceration in Caesar’s palace in Rome. How many letters did Paul write from his prison cell, chained day and night to a Roman guard? What treasures of truth he learned in those lonely and uncomfortable days and nights which he generously imparted to the many believers he had left behind on his travels in Europe and Asia! How much poorer would we be without Paul’s experience and wisdom to which we have access two thousand years later!

Did God mess up? Definitely not! He knew what He was doing when Paul could have been set free but was sent to Rome to face Nero!

THE BOOK OF ACTS – SMOOTH SAILING

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SMOOTH SAILING                                                                                       

“In the meantime, the rest of us had gone on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos where we planned to pick up Paul. Paul wanted to walk there and so had made these arrangements earlier. Things went according to plan. We met him at Assos, took him on board, and sailed to Mitylene. The next day we put in opposite Chios, Samos a day later, and then Miletus. Paul had decided to bypass Ephesus so that he wouldn’t be held up in Asia province. He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem in time for the Feast of Pentecost, if at all possible.” Acts 20:13-16 (The Message).

For once things were going according to plan for Paul. He had set his sights on Jerusalem in time for Pentecost and he was well on his way to getting there on time. The weather favoured the sailors; he was accompanied by his dear friends and behind him was the result of his faithful labour for Jesus.

He was still a Jew at heart, with the memory of Jewish festivals deeply ingrained in him. He had spent the most part of his life among pagans, gathering in the harvest of souls for the kingdom of God from city to city with toil, hardship and suffering — imprisonment, beatings, stoning, walking thousands of miles, experiencing the rigors of heat, cold, hunger and loneliness, but he was not daunted because he was gathering experience no one could take from him.

Jerusalem was his goal, the centre of the Jewish world and the capital city of his own people. Like Jesus, Paul was on a determined course for Jerusalem but, unlike Jesus, he did not yet know what awaited him there. He had been the butt of Jewish hostility throughout his travels. Many times he had been forced to turn his back on them and give his attention to the Gentiles because they had rejected him and threatened his life. He had been hounded from one city to the next and often had to change plans to escape their murderous plots but he still loved them and longed for their favourable response to the good news.

“‘I speak the truth in Christ — I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit — I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.” Romans 9:1-4a (NIV).

How could Paul say a thing like that when his own people had treated him so badly? Surely he must have held a grudge against them for the scars on his body and on his soul? Not at all! Paul, how could you be so forgiving and so caring in the face of all you have suffered at their hands?

Jesus uttered words on the cross that, if we would really take them to heart, would take the sting out of the things we suffer at the hands of others. “‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'” Luke 23:34 (NIV).

Like his Master, Paul realised that the way they treated him was just like the way he treated the believers before he met Jesus on the Damascus road, because he didn’t know what he was doing. Isn’t that true? Ignorance is not an excuse but often a reason for our foolish behaviour. If we really knew what the consequences of our words and actions would be, would we treat others the way we do?

One of the reasons why we withhold forgiveness from another is that we think we are better than he. What he has done to us we would never do to him. Really? We feel so outraged. How could he, she? But we forget that we are just as guilty because we are just as ignorant of the consequences.

Only a compassionate heart that really cared about the lives of those who hated him could cause Paul to say, “‘I have great sorrow…'”