All Things Pass

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 18:1-8 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ John 16:16-20 ~~~

The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

Paul met Jewish friends in Corinth, but for the most part
 his preaching fell on deaf ears.
His decision was to redirect his attention to the nearby Gentiles.
As a result of Paul moving on many Corinthians
heard and were baptized.
There minds and hearts were open to the word of the Lord.
Paul was steadfast and determined to preach to those who would listen.

We thank you Paul for not getting discouraged.
There were so many times when you could have
walked away, and gone home to stay.
The Spirit, which was upon Paul, gave him the strength of heart
to carry on in the face of rejection and apathy.

‘A little while and you will not see me,

and again a little while and you will see me’?

These words almost make you think of a baby's game of peek-a-boo.

To a baby if they cannot see you then you are gone.
Hiding and revealing your face to them is a surprise.
The surprise of seeing your face again
causes them to laugh and giggle.
It is delightful joy to play with babies.
But of course we know that Jesus
 is not playing with the apostles;
he really is physically going away. 

He is returning to the Father in Heaven
so that he can send down the Holy Spirit.

...your grief will become joy.

We all experience grief to some degree in our lives.
We grieve over the death of a loved one...
we grieve over losses in our lives...
some even grieve over their own lives.

Jesus does not tell us not to grieve...
he does tell us it is foolish to grieve.
He validates our grief with the promise of joy.
Jesus does not want us to remain in a state of grief.
He wants us to believe that whatever grief we experience;
he will transform it into joy.

The only genuine experience
of joy we can have must come from him.

Blessed with grief so that we can better appreciate his joy.
~~~Peace~~~