Wanda and I are sitting in the Delta Hotel in Kananaskis, Alberta at a Pastor's and wife's retreat. The place is beautiful. As we drove up, with our friends in their 2007 Caravan, a white-tail deer skipped across the road. We also saw a herd of elk grazing beside a river. It is beautiful.
The theme of the event here is "Stay the Course". We are being encouraged to start and finish well in the ministry. To value each other as husband and wife. It is good to be here and refresh.
But my mind goes to the first century Christians and their times of retreating. Paul and Silas, working hard at setting up the Kingdom of God in new territory. People hearing and misunderstanding their message and intent. In a short time they are in trouble with the community. Acts 16 takes us to their "Delta Hotel".
Acts 16:22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Oh, what power the early church displayed for the generations that followed. These two men are praying and singing hymns to God while sitting in the stocks. The temperature of my room is perfect. The temperature of their hearts were perfect.
We don't have it that rough as church leaders. Nothing compared to the early days of the faith. Canada is a great country. With so much freedom to declare the claims of Christ, we should stand unafraid of the persecution we may face. These men, Paul and Silas, are men who bring a whole new meaning to "being on a retreat with the Lord".
I praise God for them!
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