"For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 28:30-31
I love that little scripture! As a renter, for the first time since young adulthood, there's something comforting to me within those short passages. I bet Paul was grateful for that short time of settling and working "without hindrance". I bet his beat up body desperately needed a break!
The ironic part about this is that Paul was actually under house arrest during those two years and had a soldier guarding him. All the while he lived his mission for Christ. He wrote to the churches (Ephesians, Colossians and Philippians), he preached from this house, he wrote personal letters and mentored men like Timothy, Tychicus, Epaphroditus and Mark. It is said that he witnessed to the entire Roman Guard. Talk about making lemons out of lemonade! Talk about focus!
I start moving tomorrow and I'm just grateful to be able to hang some pictures, paint and plant a garden. As I read this scripture, I'm also grateful to not be under guard and since I have freedom and can take my time moving in, I'm going to pray about how I'll use this new place to do His work.
How inspiring it is to read about Paul's situation and see how God blessed and afforded him even more opportunity to tell people the Good News of Jesus. How about us? Do we use our houses, apartments, condos or trailers simply for ourselves? Do we use them for maximum impact? What about focus? As Christians are we focused on our opportunities to love God with all our hearts and then pour that love back out on the people we come in contact with?
Have you ever thought that God may have positioned you in your neighborhood intentionally?
I'm going to do my best to journal this part of my journey - hope something good happens!
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