Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me

Good morning. After the commotion in Ephesus, Paul left to go to Macedonia (remember the offering he was going to collect there). He finally came to Greece. He spent three months there (my Bible says that he stayed in Corinth, and that he probably wrote the book of Romans at that time), and after a plot was formed against him by the Jews, he decided to return through Macedonia. Possibly when he went through Macedonia, they decided to send an offering; and when he came back through, they gave him the offering to take to Jerusalem. He was accompanied by several men, including Timothy. Those men had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. Notice that Acts returns to the use of “we“, and that they are in the city of Troas, where Paul first met Luke. They had just finished the days of unleavened bread, which includes Passover. On the first day of the week, when the church was gathered together, Paul began talking to them intending to leave the next day; and he prolonged his message until midnight. In how many churches today, would the people stay that long to listen to anyone? There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together (that would indicate they were on the second floor, and that it was probably of a good size). A young man sitting on the windowsill, fell asleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him he said, do not be troubled, for his life is in him. Yeah most of us would’ve thought that this was time for the end; but Paul was just getting his second wind. After breaking bread, he talked until daybreak, and then left. Father thank You for taking care of the reader and his/her family. Give him/her the opportunity today to show forth Your love to others.