20 Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie. 21 Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. 23 But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God in me (Galatians 1:20–24).
I admire these folks. They responded beautifully. There is so much competition in the body of Christ today, that new believers have to prove themselves to the older folk. What the man or woman preaches will prove themselves. Look at what Paul did. Within days of receiving the Lord as his God and Savior, he was preaching in the synagogues. He went boldly into Syria and Cilicia with the Word of God. Look at what the people did. They glorified God for what He had done in this man’s life. So the boy who used to mow your lawn, and then cut your flowers to run home to his mom with them, and now he’s a preacher?
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17 …nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother (Galatians 1:17–19).
I like Paul. I like his writings, his explanations, his descriptions, his depth—I just plain like him. Here he is showing us how he gathered his knowledge. After all, he was killing Christians before the time he writes about here. He knew nothing of Jesus and His teachings. All he knew was that Christianity was turning his world upside down, and he didn’t like that. So, when he became one of them, he had some fast learning to do. Here’s what I like about the way he obtained his knowledge. He didn’t ask every man, woman, and child what they knew about this man named Jesus and the religion he seemed to have fostered. |
Marty
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