Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 23:11

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 23:11

"And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."

Paul obviously was in need of comfort. I imagine somewhat depressed in his condition. The Lord appears to him and the comfort he gives is "thou bear witness also at Rome". Paul knew his life was not over, there was hope. We can act as the Savior did to others that are down trodden and give them hope and things to look forward to. That there is purpose in our being.

Day 3200

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 22:14, 25, 28

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 22:14, 25, 28

"And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.

And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?

And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born."

I pondered on how not only was Paul chosen, he was placed in such a way to be a free born Roman citizen. This would bring him to places to preach the gospel that he never would have lived to see. It is no accident where any of us are placed.

Day 3199

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 21:4, 9-10, 12-13

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 21:4, 9-10, 12-13

"And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.

And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.

And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

I found it interesting that Paul an apostle had disciples, four virgins, a prophet called Agabus and others tell him not to go to Jerusalem. Yet, Paul did not listen to them. I thought about authority and who would have the greater claim to revelation and being inspired on his journeys. It would have been Paul. I thought about how we are not to counsel our leaders. We may think we know better but Paul's going to Jerusalem ultimately has a greater purpose. He was on the Lord's errand. His will was the Lord's will. His days would not be shortened until he completed it.

Day 3198

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 20:7

Today's Favorite Verse: Acts 20:7

"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."

I wondered if this was the first mention of holding the Sabbath on the first day of the week? I knew the change came in remembrance of the Lord's resurrection.

"Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognize Sunday as the Sabbath in commemoration of the fact that Christ came forth from the grave on Sunday, and the Apostles commenced meeting thereafter on the first day of the week."

(Earl C. Tingey, "The Sabbath Day and Sunday Shopping", Apr 1996)

I also know that not all members of our church observe the Sabbath on the first day of the week. This change was authorized by President Harold B. Lee in 1972 after visiting the Holy Land. Among Jews we will meet on Saturdays, and in Muslim lands on Friday. This is only with permission of the First Presidency that changes were made on the day of the week. Members observe the Sabbath designated for their area.

"One of the first things we asked, in a simple way, was, “Can we meet on the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) for worship services instead of Sunday?” And as we might have expected, he said no. He said there was no precedent for this, and clearly Sunday is the Lord’s day. But before he left, President Lee asked, “Would you please write a letter and address it to the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve and explain why you made that request?” President Lee continued, “I have felt in the course of our visit to this land that that question was too important to answer on the spur of the moment.” We explained to him that for investigators to come to church on a Sunday was nigh unto impossible because Sunday is a normal workday and they would have to miss work. To bring their children to Sunday School or Primary they would have to take them out of school. Also, we all had obligations on Sunday. It was a normal school day for us at the university or wherever we were engaged."

"It took a couple months to get a response to that letter, but it came back positive authorizing us to meet on Saturdays instead of Sundays and allowing the small Church community in Egypt and other Muslim lands to meet on Fridays at the same time, because they too were struggling with similar problems (Friday being the Muslim holy day). In the letter, President Lee referred us to Doctrine and Covenants 124:49, indicating that we were freed from the obligation to meet on Sunday. Even more to the point, he referred us to Romans 14, the entire chapter. That was exciting because it speaks of the Sabbath day and our dietary preferences and that we must not destroy someone’s faith over things that are not paramount to our personal righteousness. It is a nice way to look at ourselves. So we were formally authorized to worship on Saturday, and for us that authorization was a big thing."

(David B. Galbraith, "The Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies: Reflections of a Modern Pioneer", Religious Educator Vol.9 No. 1-2008)

Day 3197