Dear saints, let us pray that the saints would follow the apostle’s pattern to foster the new believers as a nursing mother cherishes her own children and as a father exhorts, consoles, and testifies to his own children (1 Thes. 2:6-8, 11). In verse 8 Paul continues, “Thus, yearning over you, we were well pleased […]
Let us pray for the saints to follow the apostle Paul’s pattern in boasting in those gained, perfected, and built up through him
Dear saints, let us pray that the saints would follow the pattern of the apostle Paul, who boasted in those who had been gained, perfected, and built up through him (2 Thes. 1:3-4; Phil. 2:16-17; 2 Cor. 9:2; 1:14). In 2 Thessalonians 1:3 and 4 Paul says, “We ought to thank God always concerning you, […]
Caring for others by being Filled with the Intimate Concern of the Ministering Life
Paul’s writing and expression toward the believers was tender and filled with the intimate concern of the ministering life; he didn’t just rebuke or exhort, but he wept, he exhorted with tears, and he was intimately concerned for the saints. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet; we could say that by nature he was […]
Be one with God, Submit to Him, and Care for His Interest until our Opinion is His Speaking
In the Old Testament we see Moses as the prophet, and in the New Testament we have Paul; Paul was one with God to the extent that even when he expressed his opinion, what he spoke was God’s speaking. Wow! It was the same with Moses: many times what he spoke in Deuteronomy was from […]
Abiding in, Experiencing, and Living in the Inward Parts of Christ for the Body
The apostle Paul was a pattern of one who lived Christ in His inward parts, remaining in the inward parts of Christ and allowing Christ to remodel, reconstitute, and remake his inner being with Himself. Initially Paul was one who persecuted the church of God, the members of the Body of Christ, and the Bible […]
Serving the Lord as a Slave and Shepherding the Saints by Visiting them in their Homes
The apostle Paul was a pattern to the elders in Ephesus – a pattern of what the elders should be to the church to shepherd them, serving the Lord as a slave. When we hear or read about the need to shepherd others according to God, we may think that this is something so high […]
The Patterns of the Flock are Vessels of Christ and Men of Prayer Serving the Saints
We need to shepherd the flock of God by being patterns of the flock, that is, by following the pattern of those who are before us and by being a pattern to others in our living. The apostle Paul, as a pattern to all the believers the members of the Body of Christ, lived Christ […]