February 7, 2011

Acts 18
Paul’s 2nd Missionary Journey

Priscilla and Aquila

“Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila . . who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. Acts 18:1-3 (NLT)

In your own unique way, you and your wife/husband can be teammates for the Lord.

Pastor’s Reflection

I love this story! It should be a movie. Maybe it went like this. . . . .

In Rome Aquila had wandered into a small gathering of those who had become believers in Jesus. However, opposition to such gatherings by the Jewish community had caused a raucous that Claudius deported all Jews.

However, Aquila had met Priscilla in one of those gatherings of believers, but she was not only not Jewish but also was from an aristocratic Roman family. Would she leave home, country, family and nobility to partner with a young Jew in following Jesus? The answer? Yes! Tell me this isn’t romantic in the best sense of the word! Yes, someone should make a movie.

Up until now, Paul had visited perhaps a dozen cities, stayed only for brief periods of time having begun gatherings of believers in Jesus (churches), and then left.

But now he stays in Corinth for 18 months. Why? At least part of the reason must be that he met a husband and wife who were teamed up for the Lord. They housed him, teamed up with him in business, learned from him, and later used their hospitality and encouragement and what they learned from Paul to invest themselves in Apollos.

In what kinds of simple but important ways can you and your spouse team up for God?

If you are not married, is one of your criteria for choosing a spouse that of waiting for a mate who will be this kind of marriage teammate for the Lord?