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Return Journey of a Church from Prison to Paradise
We began from a dream of beloved relationship in a sinless paradise. But then our security met with unexpected interruption when our eyes opened to a scene east of Eden.

There we discovered dependence on prayer and seeking the Lord’s direction.
- What if there is no escape from this misdirected chaotic place, even from a prison of isolation not of our making?
Our own prayer as one after God’s own heart longingly pleas:

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
Psalm 25:16

Prayer, and then.. ?

Jesus illustrates how prayer’s persistent knocking will guarantee relationship with our loving Heavenly Father.

I illustrated what it must have been like for our beloved friend David who awake to the knock of a friend.

Loneliness in the Solitary Confinement || Distanced from Friends

Luke || on the Lord’s Prayer
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You may read it again in the link above.
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Luke does not tell us anything from Jesus’ parable about the man who journeyed many miles to meet his friend late in the day. But you know him.

Most know Luke’s second scroll from which today I will take our illustration of a pilgrim with frequent traveler credentials.

Acts of Good News

He had an encounter with with the Risen Christ Jesus, then journeyed the rest of his mortal life from place to place teaching the Gospel to beloved friends in distant lands.

Saul of Tarsus – Breaking through Social Boundaries
- How can we be in relationship with our beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord when we will not break the virtual bonds of artificial relations?
Saul of Tarsus was a socially connected leader of traditional religion and traditional values imprisoned by his zeal for righteousness of others; that is, until the Lord Jesus called him along a road to Damascus as an Apostle.

Paul preached the Gospel from prisons to public squares.

Acts of the Apostles:

Saul (Hebrew name) or Paul (Greek name) encountered more social distancing by way of imprisonment and avoidance of former friends determined to kill him than any of us ever will. The instances are too numerous to mention here.
- [They] instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. – 13:50
- .. the crowds .. stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. –14:19
- [leading businessmen of the town] .. seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities… But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.. – 16:19b,25
||| — A.D. 2021 — | | | – Now what?

Prayer to the Father.
the Lord Jesus taught us that
Read God’s Word and open your heart to the Holy Spirit.
Reach out to fellow believers in faith, as so often the Apostle did by letter from prison.
and finally,
when you are released from your prison,
like Paul:
GO to those brothers and sisters,
who with you are members of Christ’s body the Church, beloved friends on a journey who love you and embrace the Good News.
Paul calls himself ‘a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.’ + Romans 1:1

He confesses that he is ‘called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.’ 1 Corinthians 1:1
- Are you willing to be a slave of Christ rather than a leader of the worldly?
- Like Saul of Tarsus can you admit that your own zealous works are nothing without confirmation of the will of God?
The Apostle writes a second time to the Church at Corinth:

Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent!
2 Corinthians 10:1

We should be so meek and gentle as Christ in our love for each other and also with those distanced from genuine relationship.

It’s more than just virtual Good News.

Walk in love as Christ has walked with us, releasing us unchained from the prison of our loneliness east of Eden.

Amen.

Will you encourage a prisoner?

Won’t you imitate Paul and take just a moment to add your brief letter?

It’s simple to encourage a brother in the Lord by way of your comment below.

Like the Apostle, I hope to greet you in person once we are released.

Christ’s servant,

Roger @talkofJesus.com
January 15, 2021
Loneliness in the Solitary Confinement || Distanced from Friends
Security

Story of a man awakened

I’d like to continue from what I told you last time. You need to know what happened after a rude awakening from my dream of when my wife and I were in Eden walking with God as if HE Who Created All was my friend!

You know of course that I awoke to this day and not a time before Abraham and you may have heard or read my story, but I wanted to tell you how I felt at the time.

A Knock at the Door

We lay intertwined embraced in warmth flowing from fingertips to toe. Our paradise shattered as I awoke to a loud knock on the door…

“David! . . . Lend me three loaves!”

Who is this at this late hour, I thought? Then as I recognized my neighbor’s outcry at our door,

“Shaul, is that you?” I inquired.

“Of course it’s me. Who else would it be at this hour?” my neighbor responded as he continued,

“A friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.”

We had just fallen asleep and I retorted,

“Do not bother me. As you can plainly see the door has already been shut and we are all in bed.”

“Come on, David, I have nothing to eat for my friends who have just arrived,” he replied.

“I cannot get up and give you anything,” I again said even though my wife and I were awake by now.

Shaul again began shamelessly knocking at our door as my wife looked toward me with that look.

“Alright, my friend,” I shouted over his knocks as I headed to the door.

“I will give you your bread.”

A Parable of Separation

You know this story.

Perhaps the characters are purely fictional as in most parables; but like many of Jesus’ parables, He probably retold it in many places to different crowds in various ways.
- Can you identify with the family behind locked doors in the darkness, separated from friends and seeking peace?
- Or perhaps you can imagine that you are the friend of Shaul, who has traveled a day’s journey and arrived unexpectedly late.
Your good friend didn’t even know that you were coming to him in person. And all of you were overjoyed for this personal reunion!

Friends — no longer separated by distance.

AND your friend is even willing to go to his friend and neighbor for something to eat while rejoined in communion with each other.

Picture Paradise when Heaven’s Door | of Separation | is Opened

I have just illustrated Jesus’ parable with names of appropriate symbolism as the Lord occasionally does. [i.e. Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham]

שאול
Shaul

Shaul means, “borrowed.” http://blb.sc/000vVY

“Lend me three loaves,” he begs his beloved friend.

דָּוִד

David

David means, “friend” or “beloved.” http://blb.sc/001ccS

“This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.” – Song 5:26b NASB

and behold, a voice out of the heavens said,
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
says the LORD, the God of Israel – Gospel of Matthew 3:17

The Gospel of Luke 11:

It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray…

We know it as:

The Lord’s Prayer

Jesus’ Disciples were already isolated ‘in a certain place.’

No show here for church friends

or ritualized rote of memorized obligation.

Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins…
Gospel of Luke 11:2b-4a NASB

Christ’s application in an isolated place

Jesus, of course, is talking about prayer – petitions of a sinful man to a Father God | separated from man | by holiness.

Here is a man alone secure in his home praying – spirit to Spirit.

Perhaps he does dream of Paradise | personal relationship with the Lord God | as it was in the beginning.

Jesus invites His followers to a place | separated and distanced from others in this world.

The call to prayer is to the Father of His beloved children.

a friend at the door | to a Friend inside

I’ve told you this parable from a perspective of the FRIEND INSIDE.

The Lord Jesus speaks to each SINNER as a friend knocking | adam knocking repeatedly on the DOOR | of Heaven through prayer.

Jesus says of the FRIEND inside who I have just described in this parable:

8 I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet because of his shamelessness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
- You and I are Shaul, the borrower of bread.
- Our Heavenly Father is David | our beloved friend with the bread of Heaven, which He now has given to us after having answered a knock at His door.
It is His story I have just told!

Our beloved Heavenly Father and Friend invites you to share the Bread that came down from Heaven – the Bread of Life, Christ Jesus Who IS the Son and | Door to eternal life.

Jesus answers disciples asking about prayer with a parable of the Father | who once again desires the Personal Face-to-face fellowship of Eden.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives,
and the one who seeks finds,
and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.
The Good News of Luke 11:9-10 NASB | Jesus on prayer to the Father

NEXT: A look at Social Distancing of the Church in a 1st century world of violent upheaval.
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To be continued...
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January 13, 2021
Persevering the Social Distancing of Virtual Relationship
Letters to a Distanced Church

A quick glance at the map reveals many first century churches near the Aegean Sea, a long voyage from Jerusalem.

Believers of The Way had to depend on distant leaders to sow and nurture virtual relationships:
- to each other,
- to other churches (many in local or nearby homes)
- and to distant Shepherds of Christ like Peter and Paul.
The Apostles embraced these saints of so many distant churches with Christ’s love. They loved their flocks through letters and by occasional visits of their founding fathers (Apostles and other disciples of Jesus). Each of these mission churches had its own shepherd, sometimes a father of the household where they met.

Like the Gospels, Church Letters (Epistles) arrived by messenger or with its own pastor (Shepherd or father) returning from Jerusalem, Rome or other place where the Apostles could encourage them in Christ.

A voyage to Thessalonica from Rome or Jerusalem is about the same distance.

Pastoral letters (from the Shepherds or Church Fathers) would be read in as many of the churches along its route as practically possible.

Do you suppose that the saints of the Church in Thessaloniki suffered social distancing from their local friends, neighbors and businesses?

YES. In fact many early Christians were socially distanced from their own communities and neighbors due to threat of persecution or even death.

2 Thessalonians

from the Church Fathers of the First Century

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is only fitting, because your faith is increasing abundantly, and the love of each and every one of you toward one another grows ever greater…

Hear Paul’s heart for them and note how these socially distanced Christians coped with a new reality much different than before.

4 As a result, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God:
- for your perseverance and faith
- in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.
This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you indeed are suffering.

Commentary on a too-familiar setting
- Does this also encourage you in your social isolation from the brothers and sisters of Christ’s Church?
Picture this background from commentary of John MacArthur:

..pressure and persecution had also increased. The seeds of false doctrine concerning the Lord had been sown, and the people were behaving disorderly.

So Paul wrote to his beloved flock who were: 1) discouraged by persecution and needed incentive to persevere; 2) deceived by false teachers who confused them about the Lord’s return; and 3) disobedient to divine commands, particularly by refusing to work.

Who witnesses Christ’s love in you?

Our own 21st century community also watches us, even as the Lord Jesus assures His distant lambs held near in every era,

“In the world you have tribulation, G2347 but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 NASB

There’s that PRESSURE AGAIN.

COVID – the Affliction of Social Distancing – 2

Pressure from Affliction – ours and our loved ones.

Paul assures the Church of Relief & Retribution

For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict G2346 you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted G2346 and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 NASB

Sinners AFFLICTED — Sinners without hope as once we were.

SEPARATED by our sin, DISTANCED from the Lord God never seeking Christ Jesus, the Savior who cleanses our soul.

Afflicted by others, but also sinners spared from Judgment by the mercy of the Lord Jesus.
- COVID – Social Distancing for a time known to the Lord.
- Judgment – Just punishment separating sinners from God forever.
- COVID will end, replaced by other pandemics of the world’s sin.
- Judgment will come to the unrepentant after our mortal time expires.
These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power..
2 Thessalonians 1:9 NASB

Yet in Christ, our Lord and Savior, with the Presence of the Holy Spirit; even now — in these days of affliction — we draw near to the love and light which shines through the darkness of this world.

Amen.
January 8, 2021