Paul's memories - Ruminating in the Word of God.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Philippians 1:3,

"I thank my God every time I remember you."

One of my favorite accounts of the early church is when Paul visited
the Macedonian city Philippi for the first time. On his second
missionary journey he arrived at Philippi with Silas, Timothy and
Luke. This fascinating account is provided to us by Luke in Acts
16:12-40. The account includes wonderful descriptions of conversions
as a result of the gospel message that Paul brought, the supernatural
represented by a girl who foretold the future by a spirit that
possessed her and Paul's casting out of that spirit, a city wide
uproar resulting in Paul's and Silas' beating and imprisonment, and
the miraculous when Paul and his companions were freed by an
earthquake. The tale of the Philippian jailer and his family embracing
Jesus Christ in faith as a response to the gospel Paul preached,
resulting in their salvation, is certainly a classic account of the
kind of evangelism Paul engaged in. Surely these are among the
remembrances Paul refers to as he thanks God for these Philippian
believers.

While it is easy to recognize the supernatural, the miraculous, the
wonderful workings of God in the acceptance of the gospel by many as
provided in Luke's account, I am reminded that there was much that
could have discouraged Paul as well. Certainly he must have felt
exasperated by the wacky servant-girl who dogged him wherever he went
with her shouting. Luke tells us Paul was so "annoyed" he cast the
spirit out of her that made her living as a fortune-teller possible. I
wonder what Paul felt as he was dragged before the authorities in
Philippi and accused of creating an uproar and advocating the
"unlawful", when all he had done was to relieve a girl from a spirit
that dominated her? Certainly the flogging both Paul and Silas
received unjustly, as well as their jailing could have become a
discouragement for them.

However, as I read the account in Acts 16, I don't see Paul
discouraged or downcast. He comes across as a man living "on the edge"
for the Lord, doing great things to further the gospel enterprise. He
challenges the people of Philippi, goes out looking for those he could
evangelize, as he does Lydia and the others with her, demonstrating he
is on the offense. We find Paul and Silas, jailed for the night,
singing hymns to God and praying in the middle of the night, and
staying to evangelize the jailer and his family when they could have
run. When the magistrates freed Paul and Silas in the morning, they
demanded the magistrates come and do it themselves, as I think, for
one last opportunity to share the gospel message before they left
town.

What I see in Paul is an indomitable spirit: the Spirit of the Lord at
work in and through his life. As Paul reflects on his memories of
these folks, he does so in thanksgiving. Clearly, his thanksgiving is
rooted in the participation of these believers in his ministry, but I
suspect his thanksgiving reaches beyond what these wonderful believers
contributed, that it was all good, manifesting the implacable Holy
Spirit's involvement in the events that took place in Paul's ministry
in Philippi.

Read Acts 16. It will bring you a breath of fresh air!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com