Acts 18:21 KJV
But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
The little things often are the ones that catch my attention best. I could not count haw many times I have read through the book of Acts. I have preached through it twice. For several years I read it through once a month. I have preached through the life of Paul once and read at least two books on his life that I can remember. But this is the first time that I can recall noticing that Paul had been in Ephesus before Acts 19.
Paul testified concerning Ephesus that "a great door and effectual"[1] had opened to him there. He stayed in Ephesus longer than he had stayed anywhere, and much good was done for the glory of God through his ministry there.
But that was the second time he had come to town. The first time they had asked him to stay but he would not. He had another objective he had to complete before he could spend much time there.
But he did say, "...I will return again unto you, if God will..."
Paul recognized that he had a will, and so did God. Paul's will was subject to God's.
I cannot escape the fact that I have a will. I have
Dreams
Desires
Goals
To deny that would be dishonesty with myself. However, to ignore that God also has a will, and that will include plans for my life, would be equally wrong. The principle is to always submit my will to God's will. That is what Paul meant when he said, "...I die daily..."[2]
But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
The little things often are the ones that catch my attention best. I could not count haw many times I have read through the book of Acts. I have preached through it twice. For several years I read it through once a month. I have preached through the life of Paul once and read at least two books on his life that I can remember. But this is the first time that I can recall noticing that Paul had been in Ephesus before Acts 19.
Paul testified concerning Ephesus that "a great door and effectual"[1] had opened to him there. He stayed in Ephesus longer than he had stayed anywhere, and much good was done for the glory of God through his ministry there.
But that was the second time he had come to town. The first time they had asked him to stay but he would not. He had another objective he had to complete before he could spend much time there.
But he did say, "...I will return again unto you, if God will..."
Paul recognized that he had a will, and so did God. Paul's will was subject to God's.
I cannot escape the fact that I have a will. I have
Dreams
Desires
Goals
To deny that would be dishonesty with myself. However, to ignore that God also has a will, and that will include plans for my life, would be equally wrong. The principle is to always submit my will to God's will. That is what Paul meant when he said, "...I die daily..."[2]
No comments:
Post a Comment