Paul had enemies almost everywhere he went. His position among the Pharisees gave him understanding and insights into their ways, and he used that knowledge to his benefit. He knew that those religious leaders were primarily motivated by greed and pride. They put on a religious show publicly, but their hearts were black as night.

After Paul’s salvation, he re-directed his zealous nature from the intense persecution of Christians of which he had been very successful, to the preaching and teaching the message of Christ. One day Paul, then named Saul, was hunting down and arresting believers in Jesus; the next day he was preaching in Jesus’ name.

It is no wonder that Paul became public enemy number one as far as the Pharisees were concerned. He was a one-man wrecking ball, destroying the progress they had made in purging the land of Christians. Churches were beginning to pop up in one village after another, as a result of the energetic and passionate preaching of Paul.

He was on a mission, to take the gospel to the Gentile world, and he was going to not allow anything or anyone to stop him. Christ had personally commissioned him for the task, and he was committed to carrying it out.

They tried arresting Paul; they tried beating him mercilessly. They put him in prison, and gave him harsh rebukes. He referred to a time in Ephesus where he was forced to face wild animals, and yet, he continued to take the message of the Gospel to city after city.
After so many beatings and times of deprivation, it’s hard to understand how he kept going.

One way that Paul’s devious enemies tried to discourage him, and dissuade him from preaching, was to fill pulpits with preachers trying to win the people’s allegiance away from Paul. They tried preaching the same message, while talking bad about him. Their intention was to bring hurt to his ministry, but instead of condemning them, Paul said in…

Philippians 1:18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

To Paul, the spread of the Gospel was of far greater importance than receiving credit for being the one presenting it. If his enemies thought they could do him harm by preaching the same Gospel message that he was preaching, he was thrilled.

If Paul could take such a positive view of their Gospel presentation, even knowing that it was being done from a wrong motive, knowing that people would be exposed to the best news they would ever hear, shouldn’t we be less worried about ‘perfecting’ our Gospel presentation before ever sharing it?

The power of the Gospel is in the Gospel itself, not our ability to present it. Let’s begin sharing the Good News, and let the Spirit of God make it effective in the hearers.

In some circles work has become a dirty word. Historically those in the upper realms of society celebrated the fact that they did not have to work; such manual efforts were left for the lower class. Processionals of royalty would be met with fanfare, while common laborers would be pushed out of the way to provide access for the more ‘important.’

Interestingly, work was never designed to be shunned or mocked. The first time work was noticed was in the Garden of Eden. Adam was given the responsibility by God to take care of the Garden. I’m sure that God never intended Adam to relegate the work to his subordinates, considering it to be beneath him.

Work has been responsible for some of the world’s greatest feats. Man did not walk on the moon without hundreds of thousands of hours of intense toil. The intricate mathematical problems that had to be solved were mostly done before computers were very ‘smart.’

Great things can be accomplished when we set our minds to it. Making the decision to begin is usually the most difficult part of any accomplishment. Imagine where we would be today if Edison had decided that he was done trying after the first few failures. It was his decision to continue trying until he made it work that gave us inventions like the light bulb.

Most folks have a moment of reflection toward the end of their lives. They take a look back over their lives to see what they have accomplished. Have their efforts amounted to anything worthwhile?

The wise man, Solomon, must have battled with similar thoughts. He asked in…

Ecclesiastes 1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

At the end of his life, Solomon, the wisest and richest man ever looked back over his life wondering if his efforts had counted for anything. It was in that moment that he realized that the only thing he can take out of this life is that which has been deposited in eternity.

Those things we have done for Christ, in His name, will last to our account forever. Those things that we have done aimlessly, and for our own credit, will burn up, never to be seen again. Those incredible inventions of man that have changed the world, will one day be incinerated and lost.
However, the good deeds we do for others, the praises we offer the Lord, the opportunities we take to share Christ with others, and the relationship we develop with Christ will all endure time without end.

Our labors ‘under the sun,’ or in the physical world, won’t amount to much unless they were done for Christ. Let’s take an evaluation before we get to the end, and see what ‘profit’ our lives are making, to make sure we are mounting up lasting riches.

As Paul introduced his second letter to the church at Corinth, he identified himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.  He wrote in…

2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

Paul emphasized the fact that his office of an apostle was not one in which he chose for himself. He never went to school to earn the degree of apostle, nor did he put in an application for the job. It is likely that if he were to consider the possibility of his being accepted as a genuine apostle, he would have been discouraged and not even made an effort.

The established requirements of becoming an apostle included actually having a face-to-face interview with Jesus Himself. That would entail being able to physically see Jesus; and for Paul, that opportunity had long passed, since Jesus had already been crucified, resurrected, and ascended to Heaven.

Paul did not initiate the process of becoming an apostle. He was minding his own business, carrying out his orders to travel to Damascus and deliver warrants for the arrest of accused Christians. Paul had been responsible for the arrest and execution of many professing Christians, and this day was to be just another ‘successful’ day of putting down the growing threat against Judaism.

Paul had no idea that he was about to have a Divine appointment. With no warning, Paul was blinded by a bright light, and Paul found himself in the Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The Lord revealed to Paul, then called Saul, that He had a special purpose for him.
Paul would no longer hunt Christians to have them put to death; he would begin hunting those who would become Christians, to lead them to life.

On his face before the Lord, Paul believed on Him as his Messiah, and his life was radically transformed. He had not planned it, nor had he any indication it would happen. His life was changed and he became an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ because God had willed it.

The will of God is something very powerful. What God wills is what happens. Everything in nature responds to the powerful, sovereign will of God; everything, however, except one thing. Every plant and animal immediately obeys every one of God’s commands; every planet and star in every galaxy move in the direction of His slightest directive. There is only one in God’s creation that finds it difficult to respond to His will…man.

God’s will is all powerful. It would be good for each of us to remember the awesome gift that God gave us, and exercise it in complete obedience to that will. God will be glorified, and we will be supremely blessed.

As simple as it is profound, John 3:16 says, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Those are not just encouraging words to be casually thrown around; they are the words of life, demonstrating God’s eternal love for the world.

I have heard through the years from people who told me they really didn’t think that God loved them. They cited to me a litany of trials they had undergone, leaving them seriously doubting God’s love. They would say something like, ‘If God really loved me, He wouldn’t have allowed me to go through such hard times.’

They probably thought they were unique in their situation and assessment. However, their question and lack of understanding has been echoed down through the centuries.

The people of God had been only recently released from their 70 years of captivity in Babylon. A small remnant had returned to Jerusalem to begin the arduous task of rebuilding the Temple and the city itself. It was overwhelming. Not only was there a seemingly impossible amount of work to be done, they were constantly being harassed by the locals who passionately expressed their displeasure over them being there in the first place.

Their initial efforts were somewhat productive, but in time, the small number became discouraged and quit. Their spiritual state diminished along with their commitment to rebuilding. Before long, the people who had begun the work so zealously, were now despondent, and distrusting of their God.

The Lord sent prophets to them to try and encourage them in the work, but many of their words fell on deaf ears. Malachi was the last to deliver God’s word to them. He told them that God loved them, to which they shockingly denied. The account is told in…

Malachi 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

‘You say God loves us, but how? How has God loved us? We’re here in the midst of a pile of ruins, surrounded by people that hate us, and we are starving. Now, tell us again how God loves us!’

Israel refused to believe that God loved them because of what they could see. What they refused to ‘see,’ was that God had an eternal plan for them, and was still there for them if they would only humble themselves and call on Him.

God loves you today. He has a wonderful plan for you that stretches into eternity. He wants to share in a personal relationship with you today so that He can reveal His love to you, if you will only humble yourself and call upon Him in faith.