Brothers Among Strangers

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:1-17, Acts 28:11-16

Today's Treasure: "There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome" (Acts 28:14).
In the early spring of A.D. 61, God fulfilled a promise to Paul. The apostle arrived in Rome. Our text in Acts does not include Paul's reaction when he reached Rome. Surely, he was overwhelmed by the imposing sight, yet more so by his faithful God.
Paul had never seen anything like Rome. At the time of his arrival, Rome was inhabited by one million citizens and approximately the same amount of slaves. As Paul approached the gargantuan city, I believe God knew he would be overwhelmed by a great sea of strangers and the certainty of enemies.
A number of Christians from Rome traveled to meet Paul as far as from the Forum of Appius (43 miles away) and the Three Taverns (33 miles away). They were not old acquaintances of Paul's. They had never met him, but they were brothers in Christ.



Brotherhood in Christ was an important and profound concept to Paul. Scripture refers to a natural sibling of Paul's only once, yet I counted ninety-nine times in his epistles when he referred to other Christians as brothers. The Greek word for "brothers" is adelphos. In reference to fellow believers in Christ, the term "came to designate a fellowship of love equivalent to or bringing with it a community of life." As Paul approached Rome, God knew he needed a "fellowship of love" or a "community of life."



Paul's need was not unique. People are desperate for a sense of community today. We all want to feel like we belong somewhere. God recognizes our need for community and desires to meet the need through His church—the body of believers God organized to offer a community of life.



Paul's example teaches us that a sense of brotherhood and community is not derived from the actions and attitudes of others toward us, but our actions and attitudes toward them. As we imitate his approach to other believers, we will form cords of love not quickly broken.



Paul believed in the power of prayer and in our spiritual poverty without it. His intercession on behalf of the Romans was certainly no exception. He wrote, "Constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times" (Romans 1:9-10). Over and over in his letters, Paul assured churches of his prayers. He didn't just ask God to bless them. Paul jealously sought God's best for them.



Be bold in your prayers! Ask for the riches Christ intends for you and ask for them in behalf of others too! As a result of Paul's prayers for other believers, he had a strong bond of brotherhood with them. His unceasing intercession fueled a sense of camaraderie and unity in his heart. Likewise, our sincere intercession for others will also result in a sense of closeness, strengthening our family ties in Christ.



Lord, thank You for Paul's sense of brotherhood with other believers. I pray to follow his example through bold and persistent intercession. Compel me to pray for those I have fallen out of fellowship with. Thank You for the many spiritual gifts You've planted within my church family. They have blessed me in so many ways. Please make me eager to serve them with the gifts You've given me. Forgive me for being selective about the people I want to associate with in the body of Christ. Make me like Christ, who looks upon the heart and loves us equally. In His wonderful name I pray, Amen.


Adapted from To Live Is Christ, by Beth Moore
(Photos: AG Meeting @ Chinese Garden,Sept 29- Shaffy, Bob, Alvin, Jelson and Vince..)

Jesus Prayed

by Victor Hoagland, C.P.
based on the New Catholic Catechism

We Christians learn to pray through Jesus Christ, who not only teaches us to pray, but prayed himself. The Gospels are filled with examples of his prayer.

Did Jesus himself have to learn to pray?

Yes, he did. True, he was the Son of God who knew all things. But as one like us, he had to learn to pray while growing up. In the village of Nazareth Mary and Joseph guided his first steps in prayer. At home, in the synagogue at Nazareth, in the temple of Jerusalem he learned the rhythms and words of Jewish prayer.
Yet even in his earliest years, Jesus prayed to God with a distinct intimacy. God was his Father and he was God's son. There was a childlike, filial quality to his prayer.

Jesus prayed regularly, his first disciples recalled. He prayed before decisive moments, beginning with his baptism and as he faced his passion and death. He prayed in times of human weakness and death, as he did at the grave of Lazarus. He frequently prayed to give thanks. His prayer was steady, thankful, and confident that God's will was for his good.
His prayer was heartfelt. Nowhere is that more evident than when he prayed on the cross.

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.""I thirst." "Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother.""My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" "It is finished" "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

They were prayers that came from the heart. They reveal him tender towards those he loved and forgiving to those who wronged him; he is human in weakness and strong in faith. Never did a human heart reach out to God more eloquently than when Jesus prayed on the cross.
He ended his life with a loud cry. Even that last rending cry was a heartfelt prayer to God, issuing from the depths of his being and summing up what could not said.

And his prayer was heard. God raised him up. We Christians believe the prayer of Jesus teaches that prayer is always heard. In his prayer is our hope.
What can we learn from the prayer of Jesus?

First, that true prayer should come from the heart. He prayed from within, not with just words or gestures. His prayer was not based only on feelings or passing emotions. Prayer comes from within, beyond level of feelings, from ourselves. " Go into the inner room, " Jesus says, " and there pray to your Father, who hears you." Sometimes prayer from the heart, from the "inner room" takes the form of words, at other times it may be like his own wordless cry.
Secondly, prayer is fed by faith. Jesus prayed with an unwavering faith in his heavenly Father, a faith that lasted till his death. He taught us to pray also with childlike faith in God, believing that our prayers are heard by One who loves us.
Thirdly, prayer should be steady and persevering as his prayer was, even when no answer comes or when no relief is in sight. "Watch and Pray," he says, "Seek and knock," till the door that reveals God's holy will be opened.

His disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. He did, and he teaches us too. Yet Jesus is more than a teacher. As Christians we believe that Jesus prays for us; he is our intercessor before God. As Savior he gathers our prayers, our needs, the cries of our hearts to make them his own and offers them to God who hears our prayers in the prayer of his Son.
That is why we complete our prayers so often with the beautiful phrase: "Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen." Jesus is our teacher and he is our Savior, who takes our prayers and makes them his own.

Prayer – Talking to God

Prayer is a privilege. Imagine meeting your best friend for coffee at your favorite cafe. Your friend knows everything about you. You can count on your friend being exactly where he says he will be. Anytime you need him, you can call and he won’t be upset with you. He is willing to listen and responds with love and concern. That is just like prayer. The only difference is that your best friend is God. God is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He knows everything you ever did and He still loves you! He knows your future too. He has the best plans for your life. He cares for you so much that He gave His Son so that you could be with Him forever. “For God so loved the world, the He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). You can talk to Him about anything that concerns you. Tell Him your desires and passions. Share your concerns for your loved ones. Talk out your fears with Him. Communicate to God what is inside you without fear.
Prayer – What do I say?Prayer may be accomplished in many ways. The best way is to be natural, just as if you were in the room with Him. He is very anxious to hear every word you say. You can say whatever is on your heart. He’ll even listen to your anger and sadness. In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus taught the disciples a pattern for prayer. “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Prayer – Why Pray?Why is prayer important? If God already knows all about you and knows all that He has written, why should you pray? It’s because God created us to have free will. He wants us to come to Him willingly and not as robotic creations. He has given us a mind to make decisions and the most important decision is about eternity. Even though He knows the future, we don’t know the future choices we will make. It’s important to live by His guidance to make the right choices. In the Bible, you will find kings, prophets, and ordinary people like you and me, averted destruction by praying to God. One prayer stopped the sun, one prayed fire down from heaven, one gained fifteen years to his own life, and one prayer even saved a whole city. These people prayed intensely to the God who answers prayer. When you pray, God listens to your cries. When you don’t pray, God feels left out of your life. “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9b). As you pray consistently, you are affirming the existence of God in your life. You are building your faith as you see God’s hand do His mighty work on your behalf just because you asked. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

God answers prayer - But why not the way I want Him to?

God answers prayer! The beauty of God answering prayer is just that; He answers us! God, in His ultimate and unfailing love desires nothing less than our absolute best. Sometimes, what we think is best is definitely not beneficial for us. Often, we aren't able to see that until time passes and we can look back and see how the situation played out. God knew what was best for us all along! If a father takes his daughter into a candy store and tells her she can have anything she wants, the little girl would walk wide-eyed into the store eyeing all the sweet treats. The father, knowing his daughter is allergic to chocolate, wouldn't offer her a chocolate bar even if she asked for it. Does the father not care about his daughter's desire? No, the father is bearing the responsibility of parenting and doing what is best for the child. In this same way, God always answers our prayers with our best interest at heart. God stands to gain nothing from us, but we stand to gain everything from Him! So, next time you fail to get the answer you want or the next time you feel like God is simply being quiet, set your concerns aside and trust Him. With time, you'll see His protection and divine hand in your situation.


1 John 5:14-15 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him."