The Church

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Acts 28:30-31 says, “And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,  Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.”

     Our particular mission agency required us to send a letter to our supporters at least four times a year.  We would often insert a picture of the group of missionaries in that region, sort of waving to those that were supporting us by sending their money every month.  The Apostle Paul would do somewhat the same thing only not with a camera. Romans 16 is a good example as the Apostle goes through a long list of those that he wants others to know.  Most of the epistles are that way.

     It is only the book of Acts that does things differently even though it ends with some of the events that are going on in the life of Paul. The book ends abruptly with no closing.  I was reminded that it is this way because it is the  history of the church and the history is not completed yet.  The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is still being spread abroad and new churches are being  established.  Bible translation is still being done in many areas of the world as new languages are found, then written down, then taught to the people and finally the writing down of the Word of God for that group.  Several agencies are still at work in the business of primarily translating God’s Word so someone can have it in their own language.  What  is remarkable in all of this is the fact that we have the Bible and have had it for years and quite often, neglect it.  We have had it so long that we have family Bibles tha may date back well over 100 years or more.  We often also have a variety of bibles at our fingertips.  Digital devices now make it easy to have 25 or more Bibles on one device in which we can carry around in our pocket. My Bible program on this very computer has over 200 books in it including commentaries, dictionaries, Greek and Hebrew translations and a set of over 100 maps.  Possessing such a wealth of knowledge however, is not putting it into your head and into  your heart.  You have to read it, hear it, study it, meditate on it and memorize it.  Then, you need to live it out in your life.  Someday soon, the last person will be added to the church, baptized into the body of Christ as in First Corinthians 12:13, and with t hat last soul added, the final chapter of acts will be complete and the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ shall be raised and we which are alive will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.  What a day that will be when my Savior I shall see.  Praise God today for the fact that He is still building His church.