One of my favorite paragraphs in the New Testament is: “And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). Notice the word resolved . The KJV says determined . The definition is “to fix conclusively, decidedly, and authoritatively.” What was this resolve? “To know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Apparently, Paul was not into small talk and inane conversations. This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge . If you are not in a daily reading
“Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth” (3 John 5-8). We do not see this passage quoted often. I want to bring it to your attention because of all of the hospitality I have received, even though I was a stranger to some of those who showed me hospitality. We have taken in strangers, too. Those who went out for the sake of the Name have always been a great blessing to us. Others we have taken in for the sake of the Name . Some of them have stolen from us, some keep coming back for more monetary help, some have just disappeared, and some have been a great blessing. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper ti