Selfless Service

According to the Holy Bible, Simeon was an old man who had waited most of His life for the fulfillment of a promise made to him by God that he would see the Messiah before He died. God keeps His promises, and we, like Simeon, must keep alert and expectant till the time of fulfillment arrives.

A Prayer begins . . .

Heavenly Father, you keep your word. And we know our trust in you is well placed. Make us boldly confident in you.

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Selected book quotations begin . . .

Prophecy Fulfilled!

Richard Soule, Peculiar People, A Novel About Aquila And Prisca, Xulon Press, 2003, pp. 385, 386. SoAmazing.com

'The first convert in Ephesus, unlike Andronicus in Rome and Erastus in Corinth, was a man of little wealth and even less status. Employed as a common laborer with the crew working on the completion of the administrative agora, Epaenetus had been dispatched by his supervisor to procure awnings for two recently completed offices. What was remarkable about Epaenetus' conversion was its very simplicity.

When he appeared at Aquila and Prisca's shop, they were eating their midday meal in the corner, reading aloud from the book of the Prophet Daniel. Epaenetus entered the shop quietly and, undetected by Aquila and Prisca, listened for a long time. When they completed their meal and rolled up the scroll, they finally noticed the man standing not ten feet from them.

'May we help you?' Prisca asked?

'Do you know the significance of the prophecies you were reading?' Epaenetus asked. Unsure of his meaning, they remained silent for a moment and he answered his own question. 'According to my calculations, although admittedly they could be flawed, but according to what information I have gathered, Daniel's prediction of the coming of the Son of man should have occurred within the last fifty years.'

Neither Aquila nor Prisca had ever heard of anyone who had calculated the dates and intervals in the prophecy. 'Are you a rabbi?' he asked.

Epaenetus laughed robustly. 'I should say not. I am a simple workman, but my mother's grandfather Simeon was a prophet who himself studied the book of Daniel. When he was a young man, God told him that he would see the Christ, the son of Man, before he died.'

'And did he?' Prisca asked, fascinated.

'I do not know. After my mother married my father, they moved from Judea to Miletus. They never heard from him, but we later learned from my grandfather that he died shortly after Herod the Great.'

'This is amazing,' Aquila said. 'We have never heard of this prophecy, nor of your ancestor, but we can testify that God was faithful. The Christ was born during the last few years of Herod's life--in Bethlehem.'

'The City of David,' Epaenetus said. 'Yes, that would fulfill Micah's prophecy. Please, tell me more of this.'

Aquila and Prisca spoke with him for over an hour, until Epaenetus realized he must return to the agora with the awnings. Prisca selected two for him and invited him to come to their house that evening. They continued the stories of Jesus well into the night, and Epaenetus slept in one of their spare bedrooms. He arose the next morning with the dawn and, claiming to have received a vision during the night confirming all that they had told him, virtually demanded to be baptized.

Prisca hurried to Laban and Joanna's home in a nearby apartment building, and the band of four Christians took Epaenetus to the Kaystros, where he was immersed in the silty water. He very quickly become close to Laban and Joanna and, when Laban's shoes became popular in Ephesus, joined him in his shop. When the Roman Christians later returned to Rome, he accompanied them, marrying Laban's daughter Diana when she came of age."

SoAmazing Review: There are many people mentioned by name in the New Testament of whom little is known, and, yet, their very naming suggests they were important. In Peculiar People, a meticulously researched historical fiction by Richard Soule, many of these little known people of the early church come to life in delightful detail. We must wait until we reach heaven to see if Soule got it right!

Buy Peculiar People Now!   Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Christianbook.

Are You Paying Attention?

Joseph M. Stowell, The Trouble With Jesus, Moody Publishers, 2003, pp. 66, 67. SoAmazing.com

"In our day, bombers of abortion clinics would qualify as modern day Zealots, as would all the rest of us who are just flat-out mad about the sin and rebellion that goes unchecked in our culture. I have felt for a long time that the church in America is far better at venting our consternation than we are at practicing compassion and caring for the lost souls of the 'occupiers.'

Noticing the rapid slouch toward Gomorrah, we have spoken angry words, pointed self-righteous fingers, and written fiery volumes against purveyors of the decline. The whining and grumbling index registers dangerously high when we talk about having lost our precious America. Don't get me wrong. I agree with the bumper sticker that says, 'If you're not outraged you're not paying attention!' But we are to be among those who have learned to be angry without sinning and who don't let the sun go down on our wrath. In fact, the mark of our fellowship is that we love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).

I fear that we have embarrassed ourselves and betrayed the heart of God by being so long on mad and so short on mercy. With our spirits in a snit, we have often appeared to our world as just another irritated subgroup demanding our way with raised fists.

Let's admit it. Jesus had a better plan for engaging a dark and dying world.

For the first time in my life, I was being asked to publicly deny Jesus. Interestingly enough, the compelling person and message of Jesus captured the heart of one of these street warriors and transitioned his focus from violence to a message of engagement; from anger and war to a message of peace, mercy, and love. His name was Simon the Zealot. He is listed among the twelve disciples.

It is important to note in the ministry of Jesus that while He was clear about sin and repentance, He never expressed anger toward the pagans in the environment. When He expressed his anger, it was reserved for religious folk who oppressed God's people with their greed and burdensome rules. It was the hypocrisy of religious leaders and their distortion of the true godliness that ignited the wrath of Jesus--a thought well worth a moment of reflection for those of us who consider ourselves 'good people' with 'appropriate' disdain for a decadent culture."

SoAmazing Review: In The Trouble With Jesus, Joseph M. Stowell, President of the Moody Bible Institute, passionately urges us to follow Jesus' example, and live as He lived . . . regardless.

Buy The Trouble with Jesus Now!   Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Christianbook.

Another Great Book Quotation

"To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won't be here long, so don't get too attached. Ask God to help you see life on earth as he sees it." Rick Warren, Zondervan, 2002, p. 47. Buy The Purpose Driven Life, What on Earth am I Here For? Now!

"Read these three books, Peculiar People, The Trouble With Jesus, and The Purpose Driven Life and they will engage your intellect, stir your soul and cause you to stand straighter with full confidence in the One who is worthy of our trust." Rich Scott

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