March 11, 2011

Reading for March 7-11
Acts 20
Friday, March 11, 2011

Last Words

“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. 29 I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. 30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you. 32

“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself . .. ”

36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them. 37 They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye." Acts 20:28-36 (NLT)

Pastor’s Reflection

Paul will never see his Ephesian friends again. Have you ever said farewell to friends with the assumption that you will never see them again?

Paul takes care to tell them to be careful. It’s what every parent tells a teenager when getting into a car or taking a trip. In this case Paul says don’t let yourselves be deceived, even by those closest to you. Don’t distrust, but do be aware. Those who become deceived don’t know it. That’s the nature of deception. We’re all vulnerable, so stay in the Word, don’t neglect praying and stay connected to a good church.

But the biggest thing here for me is Paul’s entrusting his friends to the Lord. At some point every parent must do this with children. They go out on their own and we must entrust them to the Lord. A pastor must do this with his flock and friends must do this with friends who move away. In the end we must trust that each and every person on the planet is known, loved, cared for by God in a way more powerful and loving than we are able to imagine.

Is there someone in your life, whose welfare and salvation you ache for, whom you must learn to entrust to the Lord in a deeper way?