I started this "Modern Day Paul" thread the other day and it seems like I may live in that for a while. I was reading Acts 17 this morning (from a Gideons in my hotel room). I prefer the NIV, so I've gone to http://www.biblegateway.com/ for this translation of verses 22 & 23.
Acts 17:22-23 (New International Version)
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
Now, compare that to the KJV that I originally read this morning:
Acts 17:22-23 (King James Version)
22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Now, we can't compare versions without including the Message:
Acts 17:22-23 (The Message)
22-23So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. "It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I'm here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you're dealing with.
In this case, I think that the KJV nailed it. No mincing of words. "ye are too superstitious." and "therefore ye ignorantly worship...." What would Paul see today? Would he witness folks that are still too superstitious? People who put their faith in the wrong things and who are afraid or things that have no real power over them? Would he be faced with people who "ignorantly worship"? I am afraid that the answer is probably yes to both questions.
Who will tell them the Truth? Who will be their "Paul?"
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Modern day Paul II
The other day I had written about how I had compared a friend to a Modern day Paul . How can you know if you are deal with someone like Paul? What set him apart from the other apostles?
Saul was righteous and indignant. Paul was humble and gracious.
Ephesians 3:8-9 (New International Version)
8Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
Paul was obedient to God and sought His will in all that he did. He understood the power of prayer. He prayed for others, instructed them to pray and equally important, he asked them to pray for him.
Ephesians 6:19-20 (New International Version)
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Do you know anyone like that? Someone, who despite their obvious power and authority (given by God) remains humble and gracious? Is that person frequently in prayer? Do they engage others in prayer and ask them to engage with him as well?
I do believe that there are people out there, just like that. I also believe that they are blessed to be just the way that they are. Finally, I believe if you are wise, you will come along side those folks every opportunity that you can. Support them. Encourage them. Pray for them.
Saul was righteous and indignant. Paul was humble and gracious.
Ephesians 3:8-9 (New International Version)
8Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
Paul was obedient to God and sought His will in all that he did. He understood the power of prayer. He prayed for others, instructed them to pray and equally important, he asked them to pray for him.
Ephesians 6:19-20 (New International Version)
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Do you know anyone like that? Someone, who despite their obvious power and authority (given by God) remains humble and gracious? Is that person frequently in prayer? Do they engage others in prayer and ask them to engage with him as well?
I do believe that there are people out there, just like that. I also believe that they are blessed to be just the way that they are. Finally, I believe if you are wise, you will come along side those folks every opportunity that you can. Support them. Encourage them. Pray for them.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Mistake
Yesterday I made reference to the question, "If it were a crime to be a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" Here is a borrowed example with a similar theme.
A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.
He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.
He said, ''I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk; naturally...I assumed you had stolen the car ..''
Monday, August 10, 2009
Mondern day Paul
This weekend I attended an event and had the opportunity to stand before a group of people with a microphone in my hand. At one point I dared to compare a living person, someone present in the room with the apostle Paul. Heresy? Blasphemy? Gee, I don't know...
Paul was a spiritual Giant! Is it possible today for someone to be like Paul was? Perhaps. Should we expect a one-to-one correlation? A modern day clone? I think not. But if we exam the life of Paul as a whole and the contribution that he made to the Christian community of his time, we may be able to draw some parallels.
At the very beginning, I want to point out that I am specifically talking about PAUL, not Saul. Yes I know that they were the same human being, but they were two entirely different people. There is probably no better example of one who was born again in the Spirit of Christ, one who died to Self and lived for Christ. I want to focus on the new Paul and not the old Saul.
From the moment he was knocked to the ground and blinded, until the day he died, he was a changed man, entire devoted to his Saviour. Now, we all know people who have been "changed" by Christ. That is the way it is supposed to be. I've heard is said, "If it were a crime to be a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" If Christ is in us, we cannot be the same as we were.
So, what made Paul so different? First of all, he was on a mission considerably different than the other apostles. He was dedicated to bringing the Good News of the Gospel to the Gentiles, where as the rest of the apostles were primarily charged with leading the Jews to saving Grace. In modern times that might look like someone speaking to the un-churched in industry as opposed to a preacher speaking to the religious.
More than any other apostle, Paul went places, taking the Gospel with him. He did not preach at the same synagogue week after week, year after year. He went from town to town. Pick up any Bible with a map in it and you can see that Paul went on several "journeys" where he covered a LOT of ground. Paul truly was the FEET of Jesus. He carried the Gospel to far off places where God led him. Today, that far off place might be the office building right across the street from a prospering church. It might be the bar or the crack house on the wrong side of town. It might be and industry convention, attended by thousand of people from around the world. The fact is, today there are now billions of people FAR from God, but geography is not so much a factor. A modern day Paul would have to go THERE, were they are AND proclaim the Gospel. How many people do you know like that?
Of all of the Apostles, there is probably none that was a better mentor than Paul. As near as I can tell, he never traveled alone. He always had a partner, or supporting cast with him. When he spent time building a new church he sought out the leaders and he pour himself into them. He embodied the very Servant Leadership that Jesus tried to teach the others. He built up his followers until they were able to stand on their own. He trained his leaders until the could teach boldly and lead effectively. Do you know anyone like that?
Throughout his ministry, Paul never lost sight of who he was and whose he was. He was a man, saved by Grace and he belonged to a Savior who loved him immeasurably. More than anything else, Paul wanted to share that love with the entire world. He LIVED it!
We all know folks that are "good people." We have all heard pastors that were great teachers. We have all seen tremendous acts of service by ordinary people. But, how many of us have seen a "Paul"?
If you have, I would love to hear about it. Please share your story.
Paul was a spiritual Giant! Is it possible today for someone to be like Paul was? Perhaps. Should we expect a one-to-one correlation? A modern day clone? I think not. But if we exam the life of Paul as a whole and the contribution that he made to the Christian community of his time, we may be able to draw some parallels.
At the very beginning, I want to point out that I am specifically talking about PAUL, not Saul. Yes I know that they were the same human being, but they were two entirely different people. There is probably no better example of one who was born again in the Spirit of Christ, one who died to Self and lived for Christ. I want to focus on the new Paul and not the old Saul.
From the moment he was knocked to the ground and blinded, until the day he died, he was a changed man, entire devoted to his Saviour. Now, we all know people who have been "changed" by Christ. That is the way it is supposed to be. I've heard is said, "If it were a crime to be a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" If Christ is in us, we cannot be the same as we were.
So, what made Paul so different? First of all, he was on a mission considerably different than the other apostles. He was dedicated to bringing the Good News of the Gospel to the Gentiles, where as the rest of the apostles were primarily charged with leading the Jews to saving Grace. In modern times that might look like someone speaking to the un-churched in industry as opposed to a preacher speaking to the religious.
More than any other apostle, Paul went places, taking the Gospel with him. He did not preach at the same synagogue week after week, year after year. He went from town to town. Pick up any Bible with a map in it and you can see that Paul went on several "journeys" where he covered a LOT of ground. Paul truly was the FEET of Jesus. He carried the Gospel to far off places where God led him. Today, that far off place might be the office building right across the street from a prospering church. It might be the bar or the crack house on the wrong side of town. It might be and industry convention, attended by thousand of people from around the world. The fact is, today there are now billions of people FAR from God, but geography is not so much a factor. A modern day Paul would have to go THERE, were they are AND proclaim the Gospel. How many people do you know like that?
Of all of the Apostles, there is probably none that was a better mentor than Paul. As near as I can tell, he never traveled alone. He always had a partner, or supporting cast with him. When he spent time building a new church he sought out the leaders and he pour himself into them. He embodied the very Servant Leadership that Jesus tried to teach the others. He built up his followers until they were able to stand on their own. He trained his leaders until the could teach boldly and lead effectively. Do you know anyone like that?
Throughout his ministry, Paul never lost sight of who he was and whose he was. He was a man, saved by Grace and he belonged to a Savior who loved him immeasurably. More than anything else, Paul wanted to share that love with the entire world. He LIVED it!
We all know folks that are "good people." We have all heard pastors that were great teachers. We have all seen tremendous acts of service by ordinary people. But, how many of us have seen a "Paul"?
If you have, I would love to hear about it. Please share your story.
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