@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'

Remember that You’re a Success in God

God never promises that we will be free from trials and tribulations in this life. But He does promise to be with us in them and not only to bring us through them, but to lead is in victory. Isaiah writes: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isaiah 43:2). To this sure promise of His presence, Saint Paul adds: “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Corinthians 2:14). Whatever your life may feel like (and sometimes it may feel as though we have failed), if we are doing our best to walk with God, eternity will reveal that our walk was one of success in the eyes of the Kingdom. Let us remember that God’s view of success differs from this world’s view. God sees giving a cup of water to a thirsty person as a success, but this world measures success more in terms of what may be acquired. If you love Jesus, and you are daily walking and talking with Him, expect today and tomorrow to be a success!