February 5, 2025

Did you know that Paul was stoned for preaching the gospel? The people raged against him, threw stones at him, and dragged him out of the city for dead. Then, the disciples gathered around him, and he stood up and walked away. God was not finished with him. He brought salvation to the Gentiles; thank God for Paul bringing Jesus to us and giving us a chance to have our sins forgiven. We must remember that we are not here to live a fanciful life, and we may encounter hardships, but it’s nothing that Jesus didn’t encounter; look at what Paul went through as he started churches and appointed elders. The life of a Christian may not be easy in the minds of ordinary people, but we have the Holy Spirit, who gives us the ability to endure whatever comes upon us because of our belief in Jesus. Until you’ve suffered from hanging on the cross and had heavy rocks thrown at you, leaving you for dead, you haven’t come close to what our Savior and Paul went through. The other disciples went through traumatic deaths also. It all goes back to this verse in James: 

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. James 1:2-3

When you go back to the Greek word for "temptations," "peirasmos," it is also rendered as "adversity," so you can see we are to be grateful that we are doing enough for the kingdom to face trials; it means we are doing something right. 

And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. Acts 14:19-20