@FirstChurchofJerusalem
Today's Early Church Wisdom
“I shall not hesitate also to put into ordered form for you, along with the interpretations, everything I learned carefully in the past from the elders and noted down carefully, for the truth of which I vouch. For unlike most people, I took no pleasure in those who told many different stories, but only in those who taught the truth. Nor did I take pleasure in those who reported their memory of someone else’s commandments, but only in those who reported their memory of the commandments given by the Lord to the faith and proceeding from the Truth itself. And if by chance anyone who had been in attendance on the elders arrived, I made enquiries about the words of the elders—what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and whatever Aristion and John the Elder, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not think that information from the books would profit me as much as information from a living and surviving voice.
~ Papias of Hierapolis (c. 60–130 AD) From the Preface to his lost ‘Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord’
This week's Psalm is Psalm 31 'My Rock, My Shield, My Song'

Keep Your Eyes on the Road

Everyone who drives knows how important it is to keep your eyes on the road ahead. Many accidents, some fatal, result from inattention at the wheel. Life is similar. Pay no attention to where you are going, and who knows where you will end up. But what does it mean to keep our eyes on the road of life? The prophet Isaiah has an answer for us when he says, “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19). The only life that is truly worth living is the life walked with God. For those who love Him and who seek to daily walk and talk with Him, God will lead and guide them along the best possible road from His Kingdom’s point of view. Now that’s different from the world’s point of view! And it’s far, far better, for it is a road of eternal value and one which will deliver outcomes that remain forever. Keep your eyes on this road, by daily listening to Jesus. If you have found earthly ‘Satnav’ helpful, just try listening to Jesus’ directions, which are literally out of this world. He’ll take you places you could never go by your own wisdom, might, or contacts. Moreover, His is a road that’ll get you through the ‘desert’ or the wilderness’ when necessary. Finally, this road alone will get you safely to your destination with something incredible to show for your life on earth.