Daily Devotional for Monday, December 9

Paul Visited Jerusalem

"Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain;' Galatians 2:1, 2.

Facts and evidence are key elements in verifying the truth. Spend one afternoon in the gallery of any courtroom, and you will see this principle in action. Facts are reality no matter how unpleasant or inconvenient they may be. The truth is absolute no matter how it makes you feel or what the consequences mean for you. Truth is discovered, not manufactured. Truth does not fade with time but is rather established.

The apostle Paul visited Jerusalem, not as a tourist, but as a gospel­ preaching missionary. Paul regarded himself as a caretaker of the truth of the gospel, "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1). Notice the elements of Paul's visit. First, he did not go alone, but with his ministry team of Barnabas and Titus, men whom he considered valuable assets in the mission to reach the Gentiles with the gospel. Secondly, Paul was not visiting Jerusalem on a whim, but he was directed by God through "revelation" (Galatians 2:2) to travel there. Third, he was not there to receive an honor or ask for assistance, but rather he "communicated unto them the gospel" (verse 2) that he hadbeen preaching on the mission field. Was Paul needing confirmation that he was stillpreaching the truth after all these years? It hadbeen, after all, fourteen years since hehadconferred with the leaders in Jerusalem. Paul knew he had received the gospel from God, and it had no expiration date (Galatians 1:12). This was no vacation. Paul was in Jerusalem on business, God's business.

REFLECTION

The truth,Paul never left home without it. Will you?

John Nations