Good morning. Remember that Paul’s destination was
Jerusalem. To get there within any reasonable amount of time, he would have to
go by boat. Just like buses and trains today make stops that you don’t want to
make, boats also made stops that the travelers might not want to make. Paul
decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia;
for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
Pentecost is 50 days after Passover, and my Bible says that he had already
spent 16 days of that 50. Instead of going to Ephesus himself, he called for
the elders of the church there to come to him. He reminds them of how he
preached the gospel there despite the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from
declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and
from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance
toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, bound in spirit, I am
on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there; except that
the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions
await me. My Bible says that Paul did not go to Jerusalem against the direction
of the Holy Spirit, but because of the guidance of the Spirit. He was just
confirming to Paul what would happen to him when he went. Father thank You that
You warn us of dangers to come. Help us to heed those warnings without
hesitation, even when they go against what we want to do.
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
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