Paul's Final Days

The Amazing Claim of the Apostle Paul
 
“Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.
 
13 You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. 14 I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.
 
15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being.
 
17 Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus." Galatians 1:11-17(NLT)    


Believe it or not, most Christians base what they believe on what the apostle Paul taught (particularly in his letter to Rome) more than on what Jesus said.
 
What fascinates me about this is from where Paul claims to have received everything that he taught. He is emphatic that his information about salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection did not come from any eyewitnesses or any person at all. Rather what he knew and taught came directly from the risen Jesus himself. Notice what he wrote to the Corinthians;
 
“I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.2 Corinthians 12:2-4(NLT) 

Prayer
 
“Lord, the apostles saw you alive. Paul actually “went to Heaven and back”. Yet I feel so often very far from your presence. Yet all the apostles and Paul agree that each of us live daily surrounded by your presence. Thank you for that reminder, the reminder that you are with us always.  Amen."