@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'

Seek His Counsel & Do His Will

People sometimes fall into one of two diametrically opposed theological traps. Some over emphasise God’s active control of events in creation to the extent that there is no longer a place for free will. Others minimise it, seeing God as somehow standing on the sidelines watching, but not getting involved. Both are errors that damage the lives of those who hold them. An honest reading of Scripture reveals that God cares deeply, and He is actively involved in creation, yet His perfect will is not yet fully done on earth. This is why Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). God has a will concerning all things, and if we choose to spend time with Him in contemplative prayer, listening to His voice, He will reveal aspects of that will to us, that we may walk in it and fulfil the Divine purpose for which we were created and brought to earth (Zechariah 12:1). Regarding God’s counsel, Isaiah describes God as “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:10). In a world of lies and deceit, here is solid advice and perfect guidance. As we follow His guidance, we can be sure that His purposes in and through our life will stand today, tomorrow, and forever.