Day 335: The Christian as a steward

Paul tells the Corinthians what really matters.
Paul’s sufferings and reward
2 Corinthians 4:1-18
The apostle’s hope
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
The new creation
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
The proof of Paul’s ministry
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Separation from unbelievers required
2 Corinthians 6:11-18, 7:1
Paul’s heart revealed  
2 Corinthians 7:2-16
An example of giving
2 Corinthians 8: 1-10
Encouragement to give
2 Corinthians 8:11-16

Paul wants to emphasise the unseen spiritual dimension of the Christian life, which he sees as outweighing the seen, physical dimension. In our physical lives, we may be weak, we may suffer, we may be unregarded. In spiritual terms, we possess priceless treasure, we have seen unsurpassed glory. However, this does not mean that we can please ourselves physically, thinking that the physical self is completely different from the spiritual self. No, Paul tells us quite firmly to “ purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” (7:1)
Then Paul returns to the uncomfortable subject of correcting the Corinthians. He acknowledges that the harsh words in his first letter caused them upset, but says it was necessary to do them good.  He reassures them that he loves them, that he wants th best for them unlike (hint, hint) certain others he could mention...
Paul is glad. Another of his lieutenants, Titus, has reported that the Corinthians have listened to him and changed their ways. So he is bold to go and remind them about the collection he intends to take to Jerusalem, and asks that they get it ready to give to Titus when he comes. Go on, make me proud of you!

Day 334: Paul shares his heart

More about Paul’s stormy relationship with the Corinthian church.  
The collection for the poor
1 Corinthians 16:1-12
Conclusion
1 Corinthians 16:13-24
Paul goes to Macedonia
1 Timothy 1:3, Acts 20:1
Second Corinthians letter: God’s comfort in trials
2 Corinthians 1:1-14
Paul’s reason for not coming
2 Corinthians 1:15-24
The repentant offender to be restored
2 Corinthians 2:1-11
Paul’s triumphant ministry
2 Corinthians 2:12-17
The glorious gospel
2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Paul finishes his first letter with promises to visit soon, and requests that they make a collection for the poor. It was his intention to care for the Christians in Jerusalem financially, and so demonstrate that the Gentile Christians recognised that they were brothers and sisters with the Jewish Christians.
His next stop was to be Macedonia, and he was now in the habit of sending his lieutenants Timothy, Apollos and others to the different churches to check on how they were doing. He fully intended to call in at Corinth but his plans didn’t work out quite that way.
So, at the start of his second letter, he is half apologising to them cor not turning up, and half defending himself against those who seem to be saying “You can’t trust Paul, he says he’s going to come and visit you, then he doesn’t come.” What’s the matter with them? Why are they so suspicious about him?
Paul is a little bit more conciliatory at the start of this letter. He urges the Corinthians to forgive the person who he’d condemned in his previous letter - no doubt he’s heard that the man was sorry for his misdeeds - so he emphasises that forgiveness is possible, and that he trusts them when they tell him that the man has truly repented. He tells them about his travels in Troas, and about how God was with him, and can’t resist a little dig at those who asked to be paid to preach. I think this is a big part of the Corinthians’ problem, they have been infested by people who charge for their spiritual services, who run down Paul at any opportunity, ad who are teaching things that destabilise the Corinthians rather than building them up.
What was the agenda of these troublesome teachers? Was in the old Judaizing influence? Interesting that in chapter 3, Paul immediately moves to an argument about how much better being a Christian is than being a Jew.

Day 333: Love - the greatest gift

How is Paul going to get the Corinthians to change? Tell them off, criticise them. or inspire them?
The centrality of love
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Prophecy to be desired
1 Corinthians 14:1-11
Prophecy builds up the church
1 Corinthians 14:12-25
Orderly worship
1 Corinthians 14:26-40
Paul proves the resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 8-28
Objections answered
1 Corinthians 15:29-49
From mortal to immortal
1 Corinthians 15:50-54
The believer’s triumph
1 Corinthians 15:55-58


If you really want people to change, criticising them seldom works. Better to find something that will lift their thinking to a new level. Paul strives for it and finds it in his glorious chapter on love. He takes the highest Christian virtue and sings his heart out about it. It’s impossible not to be moved.
Moving on, he spends a long time talking about prophecy. Seems to me he must have heard reports about what worship in the church of Corinth was like. A din, basically. Everyone shouting at the tops of the voices, no one listening, women just chatting to each other and not even taking part (if they were following synagogue practice and sitting separate from the men). What would a visitor think?
So he tells them to speak intelligibly, to listen to each other, to use their spiritual gifts to build each other up, not make themselves feel good or sound impressive.
There’s one final issue Paul needs to address, and he’s left it to last. Why? Because I reckon he thinks it’s the most important. “how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (15:12) The one thing that all of Christianity depends on is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Take that away, and we might as well all go home. Seems that some people were questioning this very cornerstone of the faith, casting doubt on whether it happened, what it looked like, and so on. So Paul underlines how essential it is, how wonderful it is, and how these foolish misguided Christians must not lose sight of the most important aspect of their faith.

Day 332: Paul instructs the church

Paul continues trying to put the Corinthians right.  
Jewish heritage reviewed
1 Corinthians 10:1-14
No compromise in relation to the Lord’s Supper
1 Corinthians 10:15-22
Doing all to God’s glory
1 Corinthians 10:23-33, 11:1
Paul corrects some abuses
1 Corinthians 11:2-16
Right and wrong celebration of the Lord’s Supper
1 Corinthians 11:17-22, 27-34
Use of Spiritual gifts
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Comparison with the human body
1 Corinthians 12:12-31


I was talking to a friend the other day about how much the Jewish heritage that Christians enjoy matters. He made the point that the first Gentile Christians didn’t know anything about it, so it was hardly vital. I wanted to say that it is still very important, and that I have learned so much from the Old Testament this year. Here is something that might add weight to my side of the argument - Paul drawing moral lessons from the stories of the children of Israel.
(Now my friend will have a good reply to that, I know, but it at least takes the debate forward!)
Moving on. Chapter 11. What is it all about?? It doesn’t seem to make any sense at all to me. I can only conclude that the problem here is that we are listening to one half of the conversation. I don’t see the significance of having your head covered, or not, and Paul, having just argued very pragmatically that eating meat offered to idols isn’t going to do you any harm and that you should on;y abstain to avoid upsetting others, is hardly likely to suddenly take the opposite side on an argument about head coverings. It must have come from something the Corinthians asked him, and we don’t know the context.
The stuff about the Lord’s Supper is much more direct and intelligible. What kind of “Holy Communion” is it if the rich people turn up and stuff their faces, and the poor people go home hungry? OK, they’ve all shared the bread and the wine together, and remembered Jesus’ death, but if that’s all they’ve shared, then their fellowship is very hollow. How often are we like this in church today? We turn up to share the most profound experience ever with each other, and then go home again without doing anything to understand each other, help each other, care for each other. It’s a mockery of a fellowship meal.
Spiritual gifts was obviously another of the Corinthians’ hangups. So Paul gives us some nice straightforward teaching. You’ve all got different gifts, so don’t be jealous of what somebody else haw got. You all need each other. Trust God to work it out.
Simples.

Day 331: Paul answers questions

Question about marriage
1 Corinthians 7:1-16
Advice to remain in the same state
1 Corinthians 7:11-31
Advantages of singleness
1 Corinthians 7:32-40
Concerning meat offered to idols
1 Corinthians 8:1-6
Do not cause a brother to sin
1 Corinthians 8:7-13
Paul’s rights as an apostle
1 Corinthians 9:1-14
He waives his rights
1 Corinthians 9:15-23
His unfading crown
1 Corinthians 9:24-27

It seems the Corinthians had written to Paul with certain questions, and now he turns to address them. They wanted to know whether they should get married, or not bother because Jesus was coming back soon. Paul has got some basically common sense advice for them.
Then they were bothered about food offered to idols. The Council in Jerusalem had told Christians not to eat it, but in Corinth that was easier said than done. Food be resold of ordinary use. So you couldn’t guarantee that what you were buying hadn’t been through the idol at some temple or another. Paul’s advice is again pragmatic - we know in reality that these idols are nothing at all compared to God, so nothing is going to cause you harm just by eating their food. But for some people, this is a real problem of belief, so for them, they should stay away from such food or they’ll get anxious. So think about them, and don’t upset them.
Finally for today, Paul feels the need to defend himself and his credentials. It seems likely that the Corinthians had been visited by other leaders, who asserted their status by demanding a fee for their teaching, and who denigrated Paul because he offered his wisdom for free. “Hah! He can’t have been worth much, then!” These other travelling preachers and teachers must have done a lot of harm in unsettling the Corinthians, and Paul is concerned to try and ensure that he gets listened to, not them.

Day 330: Straight talking

The more Paul goes on, the worse the Corinthians seem to be. What has got into them?  
Christian service evaluated
1 Corinthians 3:1-15
The temple of God
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
All things are ours
1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Paul’s apostleship
1 Corinthians 4:1-13
Paul as a father in Christ
1 Corinthians 4:14-21
The Corinthians rebuked concerning incest
1 Corinthians 5:1-8
Disciple of sinning believers
1 Corinthians 5:9-13
Lawsuits rebuked
1 Corinthians 6:1-8
The sacredness of the body
1 Corinthians 6:9-20

As Paul goes on, and gets to the end of his complaints about the factionalism and worldliness in the Corinthian church, you expect him to turn to more cheerful things. Instead, he says that he is sending Timothy to them to remind them what true Christianity is, and that he himself will try to come, and would they prefer that he came to discipline them, or that he came in love? In other words, sort yourselves out before I get there!
What was so wrong? We begin to find out in chapter 5 - they are tolerating some pretty major sins in their midst. They are arguing with one another and taking each other to court. Paul is appalled at this. Christians, commanded by Jesus himself to love one another,. going before secular courts to settle their differences? It’s an outrage! And then they think they can please themselves in matters of sexual morality, as if what your body gets up to has no effect on your soul. Paul has no truck with that phoney Greek dualism. What your body does affects the rest of you - you can’t compartmentalise your life and live a holy, spiritual bit on Sundays and indulge the physical bit the rest of the time. These Corinthians need sorting out!

Day 329: Paul’s third missionary journey

Corinth is going to be a cause of heartache for Paul.

Third Missionary Journey AD 54-58
Antioch to Ephesus
Acts 18:23-28
Paul teaches at Ephesus
Acts 19:1-12
Jewish exorcists disgraced
Acts 19:13-20
Demetrius stirs up trouble
Acts 19:21-32
The city clerk calms the crowd
Acts 19:33-41
First letter to the Corinthians: Paul’s greeting
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Divisions in the church
1 Corinthians 1:10-16
The power of the gospel
1 Corinthians 1:17-31
God’s wisdom revealed by the Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:1-16

The first mention of Apollos - a lively though not always well-informed preacher. He became quite a favourite a Corinth, not always to Paul’s liking.
Paul meanwhile is back on the road. He encounters some Christians (possibly some of Apollos’ converts) who don’t know the whole Christian message. He has to explain to them about the Holy Spirit (some Anglicans need the same!) Ephesus was a place of some turmoil - and Paul’s success there upsets the local tradespeople because their sales of silver idols were in sharp decline. A crowd that sounds remarkably like a football crowd starts chanting and threatening a riot, until the brave town clerk manages to calm them down and send them on their way.
Round about this time, Paul was trying to sort out the church in Corinth, which, though enthusiastic, tended to lurch this way and that on various matters.
He begins by warning them about their divisions. Various different teams being supporter here - Paul, Peter and Apollos all have their fans in Corinth, and Paul wants them to forget this trivial rivalry and concentrate on worshipping Jesus Christ. They are so in danger of forgetting God’s wisdom and relying on the human sort, letting their enthusiasm run away with them. Paul needs to remind them about God’s small, mustard-seed way of working. Not flashy, but effective.

Day 328: The Thessalonian letters

Trying saying that without lisping!

Exhortations to love and purity
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
Comfort concerning those who have died
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Lord’s return
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Other instructions and conclusion
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Second Thessalonian letter: Comfort in persecution
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
The coming of Christ
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Instruction in conduct
2 Thessalonians 2:13-17, 3:1-15
Final prayer
2 Thessalonians 3:16-18
End of Paul’s second journey
Acts 18:18-22

Paul had to leave Thessalonica in a hurry, and perhaps there were things he never had a chance to tell them. They do seem to be worried about what happens to people when they die, and so Paul wants to offer them some reassurance about that. He also has something to say to them about Jesus’ return - it could be any day, but as Jesus said, it will be a surprise. The rest of his first letter is general encouragement: chin up! keep going! you’re doing fine! sort of stuff.
His second letter opens by encouraging them to hang on in the face of persecution. Then he goes back to the second coming - they’re still fretting about it, thinking that Paul had said something like Jesus has already come. What?? Have we missed it?
Paul’s also heard that some people in Thessalonian church were being idle and disruptive, so he ticks them off, and warns them to earn the food they eat. But on the whole, he is well pleased with this little church - they are getting on fine.
Returning from Acts, Paul moves on from Corinth, pays his respects to Jerusalem, and then visits many of the other churches that he established. His role now is not simply that of evangelist, he is concerned that the churches he has started should go on in their faith.

Day 327: Paul teaches in Greece

Paul shows his versatility.
Paul preaches about the true God
Acts 17:16-34
Paul goes to Corinth
Acts 18:1-11
Paul before Gallio
Acts 18:12-17
The first Thessalonian letter: Their faith, love and patience
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Paul’s integrity
1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Their reception of Paul’s message
1 Thessalonians 2:13-20
Timothy is sent to encourage them
1 Thessalonians 3:1-8
Paul’s prayer
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

In Athens, Paul speaks for the first time to people who have no conception of the Jewish faith. he starts from a very different place with them, and homes in very quickly on the resurrection of Jesus - the key piece of evidence that he’s not just peddling a fairy tale, but has something real to base his views on. Some listen, some scoff.
On to Corinth, where he makes a good start in building a church. Here we find out that Paul has a skill - he is a tentmaker, and he sets up shop with Aquila, who has the same trade, and supports himself financially until his friends catch up with him. Paul is no stranger to hard work. Unless he was in a ship, he was walking round Europe and Asia Minor. He spent all his energies preaching, and frequently his reward was nothing but violence.
But, unnoticed, Christian communities are springing up in the places where he has been. Even in Thessalonica, where the Jews were particularly brutal to wards him, we find out from his letter to them that they are carrying on their new found faith with loyalty and commitment. Paul takes great joy in them. And when Timothy catches up with Paul in Corinth, he has nothing but good news about how the little church is going. So Paul takes up his pen and writes to them with tender pride. So he prays for them: “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.  May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”
Amen to that!

Day 326: Paul’s second missionary journey

A day of arguments and contention.
The decision of the Jerusalem council
Acts 15:13-35
Second missionary journey AD 50-54
Peter visits Antioch
Galatians 2:11-14
Paul and Barnabas separate
Acts 15:36-41
Paul goes to Macedonia
Acts 16:1-15
He casts out a spirit of divination
Acts 16:16-21
Paul and Silas are imprisoned
Acts 16:22-26
The Philippian jailer
Acts 16:27-34
Paul and Silas freed
Acts 16:35-40
They preach at Thessalonica and Berea
Acts 17:1-13
Paul goes to Athens
Acts 17: 14-15

At the council, Peter makes it clear that that theological principle at stake is this: “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as [the Gentiles] are.” Payu;l and Barnabas tell about God’s power at work among the Gentiles, and James finds a Biblical passage to justify what is going on. So Gentiles are in, oin their own terms, with just a few conditions attached so as not to offend Jews. Result.
But saying it and living it are two different things. When Peter went to Antioch, at first he was fine with the Gentiles, but when the Jewish group got to work on him he went back on his principles and separated himself from the Gentiles. Paul had to rebuke him and make him see sense. The Jewish Christians who have this point of view (that Gentiles must become Jews first, then Christians) don’t give up just because of a decision handed down by the Council.
Paul; has got itchy feet, and wants to get off on another journey. Barnabas is all for giving John Mark another chance, but Paul is unforgiving. They have such an argument over this that they go their separate ways. So - Christians can argue,
They are guided by the Holy Spirit away from Asia Minor and into Europe, where once again, prison features on the agenda. Despite being in the stocks, Paul and Silas have a praise party, much to the interest of the other prisoners, and God sends an earthquake to set them free The jailer is at first so frightened then so impressed that he and his family become Christians on the spot. Paul decides to flash his Roman passport around, which gets him better treatment from the officials, and soon he ans Silas are free to go. They move on to Thessalonica, where the Jews turn violently against them, then to Berea, where the Jews listen with interest, until the Thessalonian Jews turn up and poison their minds against the missionaries. Paul is packed off to Athens, while the others try and calm things down.  Interesting. Paul is clearly no diplomat, and sometimes it is best to to keep him quiet and out of sight.

Day 325: Paul’s first missionary journey

Hang on - he’s changed his name! The man called Saul is now known as Paul.
Paul preaches at Antioch (Pisidia)
Acts 13:14-41
The Gentiles receive the message
Acts 13:42-49
The Jews drive out Paul and Barnabas
Acts 13:50-52
The minister in Lyconium and Lystra
Acts 14:1-18
Paul is stoned, but revives
Acts 14:19-20
They return to Antioch
Acts 14:21-26
They report back to the church
Acts 14:27-28
The council at Jerusalem
Acts 15:1-12, Galatians 2:7-10

Paul preaches in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch. Not an easy sermon to follow, I have to say - quite a learned Jewish discourse, and the response he gets is polite but lukewarm. The Jews there are prepared to listen again, but not ready to agree with him. They invite him back next sabbath. But in the ensuing week, Paul and Barnabas get loads of enquiries from people of all faiths and none, so that by the time the next sabbath comes round, the little synagogue is packed. The Jews, instead of being delighted, are jealous and angry, and throw Paul and Barnabas out.
Paul and Barnabas continue on elsewhere, leaving behind a group of converts. The pattern is repeated in Iconium, and in Lystra Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for gods when they heal a lame man. Then Jews from Iconium and Antioch turn up and turn the crowd against them. Paul is lucky to escape with his life.
But in every place they visited, there is a little church. Paul and Barnabas sneak back in to the cities on their way home, and make sure that the little churches are organised and standing firm. Then it’s back to Antioch with great rejoicing for the successes they’ve had.
But Antioch has changed. It’s no longer as happy to reach out to the Gentile world as it was. Jewish Christians from Judea are back in the ascendancy, and they are pushing the message that to become a Christian, you have to become a Jew first. Paul refuses to take this lying down, and argues vehemently with them. So the Antioch church decides it must consult the apostles in Jerusalem, and get a ruling on this matter once and for all. Paul and Barnabas must go and give evidence to the council in Jerusalem on behalf of Gentile Christians.

Day 324: Peter’s deliverance

More from James, then back to Peter and Paul.

Evils that cripple true faith
James 4:1-17
Rich oppressors denounced
James 5:1-6
Exhortation to patience
James 5:7-12
Encouragement to prayer and confessing of faults
James 5:13-20
Peter again imprisoned and freed
Acts 12:3-17
Herod’s rage
Acts 12:18-19
Death of Herod
Acts 12:20-23
Paul’s first missionary journey AD45-47
Paul and Barnabas set out
Acts 12:24-25, 13:1-3
The preach in Cyprus
Acts 13:4-12
John leaves
Acts 13:13

James fiercely insists that relying on worldly wealth will lead to disaster, and only God can save. He wants people to stand firm in their faith, even in the teeth of intense opposition and persecution. Remember Elijah? Be like him.
I wonder if Peter thought of Elijah, as he was carted off to prison yet again. Like General Galtieri invading the Falkland Islands, Herod has found a way to be popular with his people - hit the Christians. Unfortunately for him, Peter is more of a slippery target than James. Miraculously freed by an angel, Peter has to persuade his friends that their prayers have been answered, and that he is really there, knocking on their door! Herod meanwhile comes to an unpleasant end - puffed up with pride, he dies at the height of his presumption. Did he have a heart attack or was he struck down by God? Who cares?
Meanwhile the church in Antioch is beginning to look beyond itself. There is a world out there, thronging with people who don’t know anything about the Jewish carpenter who died to save them. Paul and Barnabas are chosen to start telling them about him. They take young John Mark with them (later to be famous for writing his gospel) but he finds the going too tough and leaves after a while.

Day 323: the letter of James

A Gentile church and the Jewish letter.  
Church established at Antioch
Acts 11:19-24
Paul brought to Antioch
Acts 11:25-26
Gift sent to Jerusalem
Acts 11:27-30
James (John’s brother) killed
Acts 12:1-2
James’ letter written AD 45
The letter of James: Temptations try faith
James 1:1-15
God’s good gifts
James 1:16-18
Doers of the word
James 1:19-27
No respect of persons
James 2:1-13
Faith and deeds
James 2:14-26
Use of the tongue
James 3:1-12
True wisdom
James 3:13-18

At last Gentile church is established at Antioch. Barnabas has the heart to rejoice and see it as God’s work, and he remembers Saul, and fetches him to work at Antioch. So Barnabas has the vision that Saul, the arch-Jew, might be the perfect person to work with Gentiles.
These Gentile christians take it upon themselves to support the Jerusalem church in their hardship. They raise a collection which they send to Jerusalem. Persecution is fierce, and James, John’s brother is executed and Peter, again, arrested.
So this is the backdrop for James’ letter. James, the brother of Jesus, had emerged as the leader of the church in Jerusalem. In many ways he’s like his brother – he writes as Jesus used to speak: pithy, direct, uncompromising. He’s not impressed by worldly show – he tells people off for showing favouritism. He strongly insists that real faith must show itself in action, (reminds me of the parable of the two sons) he warns people not to let their tongues do harm (reminds me of Jesus saying “what comes out of a person defiles him”) and he points the way to true wisdom, coming down from heaven from God.  

Day 322: The first Gentile converts

Who are the chosen people:? Everyone!
Aeneas is healed
Acts 9:32-35
Dorcas is raised to life
Acts 9:36-43
Cornelius sends for Peter
Acts 10:1-8
Peter’s vision
Acts 10: 9-18
He goes to Cornelius
Acts 10:19-33
Peter preaches the gospel
Acts 10:36-43
Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit and are baptised
Acts 10:44-48
The apostles contend with Peter
Acts 11:1-3
Peter’s defence
Acts 11:4-18

Today is the moment when the new movement of God bursts the banks of Judaism and floods out into the Gentile world. It’s hard to over state how significant this is. Right back to Abraham, and his calling by God, which I read back on 12th January, God has been working through one family, one tribe, one nation. There was always the promise that through them, everyone else would be blessed, but it has seldom come even close to a reality.
But after two lovely little healing miracles attributed to Peter, the man himself is dozing off, while waiting for his lunch. God sends him a dream which challenges his Jewish prejudices, and the next thing is that there’s a knock at the door with messengers from  a Roman.
Peter, his mind open to something new, accepts the invitation and goes to visit Cornelius. When he arrives, Cornelius of course comes out to him. That’s what Romans had to do if they wanted to speak to Jews. Even Pontius Pilate did it. Jews wouldn’t come under your roof. They would be defiled. But Peter, with a new confidence, walks right in.
He walks in to God’s new world. There in front of him is a group of Cornelius’ friends, all Gentiles, all eager to discover God for themselves. Peter begins to tell them about Jesus, and his sermon is interrupted by the Holy Spirit falling on the assembly. That’s all the proof he needs, and everyone is promptly baptised into the new faith.
But there’s trouble back home. The rest of the Christians haven’t made the journey that Peter has made, and they think he’s off his rocker. he has to tell them the whole story. (It’s an interesting thing about Acts - the really key moments are told and retold. We get to hear Peter’s dream twice, and Saul’s conversion three times).
Everyone is convinced, and praises God saying “even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”  But there will be more battles to come over this issue.

Day 321: The conversion of Saul

The Christians seem unstoppable, but the Jews have a secret weapon - a psychopath named Saul.
Saul persecutes the church
Acts 8:1-4
Philip’s ministry in Samaria
Acts 8:5-13
Simon the sorceror’s hypocrisy
Acts 8:14-25
Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch
Acts 8:26-40
Saul’s conversion
Acts 9:1-9
He preaches Christ
Acts 9:10-22
His escape
Acts 9:23-25
His early experiences
Galatians 1:17-19
Barnabas befriends him
Acts 9:26-29
He is sent to Tarsus
Acts 9:30-31

The death of Stephen seems to mark a change in the Jewish authorities’ policy against the Christians. They are no longer content to follow Gamaliel’s advice and see if it will all blow over - they are now declaring outright war on the Christians. Jerusalem is no longer a safe place for them, so most of them scatter for safety, preaching about Jesus wherever they go. Philip, another of the deacons, starts telling the hated Samaritans about Jesus, with great effect. He is then sent by God to talk to an important official from Ethiopia, who presumably carried the message of Jesus back home with him. The gospel is shooting off in all directions.
Other Christians have started a new cell in Damascus, and Saul sets off to try and root them out. Before he can get there, he has the most famous conversion experience in history. We don’t know what he thought about Jesus Christ, but I think it’s certain he didn’t imagine that he was hurting him. To be told by a blinding light, “You are persecuting me.” is food for thought.
Then a very brave little disciple is dispatched to pray for Saul, and the one time persecutor of the churches begins preaching in them.
It takes a while for him to accepted by the Christians though, and Barnabas is the person to break the ice. Paul, writing about it years later doesn’t mention him (they’d fallen out by then) but if it hadn’t been for him, he might never have been accepted, and the early church would have lost its best advocate and evangelist.