Paul
the apostle told the church members in Corinth “Now
I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia”,
and in chapter sixteen and verse six of
First Corinthians, Paul declared to the church members, “it
may be that I will abide, and winter with you”,
where we read:
And it
may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you,
that
you may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go.
The
verse begins, “And
it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you,...”
Paul began
with the words, “And it may be” or
“it may happen, chance, be attained and hit the mark” “that
I will abide”
which means “that Paul would remain beside, continue always near or
survive”, “yes”
or “either or rather”, “and
winter” or
“pass through the rainy or winter season” “with
you” which
refers to “the church members in Corinth”. Paul thought it
possible to continue with the church members in Corinth through the
winter season.
The
verse continues, “...
that you may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go”
Paul added
the words, “that you” or
“so the church members” “may
bring me” which
means “might send forward, accompany, aid or escort Paul” “on
my journey”
or “on his way or travel”
“whithersoever”
which means “wherever or whatever place” “I
go” or
“Paul carries over, pursues, continues or transfers”. By
“wintering”
with the Corinthians, Paul thought it would be helpful to him in his
future travels.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we see the practical side of
the gospel. Paul traveled, and his journeys called for provisions
especially in the “winter”. Paul knew if his timing was
right, he could simply stay with the church members in Corinth during
the “winter” and that would help him in his future
travels. Jesus Christ has “good news” for everyone to hear about
salvation of their souls eternally, and many times the normal,
everyday provisions are necessary to continue sharing the message
with others. Let us realize the Christian's practical activities lead
to the furtherance of the gospel and should not be minimized as just
a daily routine.
Next
time
Paul tells the church members, “I
will not see you now by the way”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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