The Sword of the LORD

It could well be said that the apostle Paul knew the inside of a prison very well. Commentators generally agree that he spent two years in a prison in Ceasarea between 58 - 60 AD, was imprisoned in Rome between 61 - 63 AD, spent time in a maritime dungeon in 68 AD, and was jailed in Rome again that same year. He also saw the inside of a Philippian jail. Altogether, Paul spent seven years of his life in prisons. Rather than being bitter about his lot, he instead seemed to take pride in being the "prisoner of the Lord." He firmly believed that, whatever his lot, God had a plan and a purpose for everything that came into his life as a Christian. In Romans 8:28, he acknowledges that, "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose." Paul expanded on the theme of God's providence in all things in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians. "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Fat

"Peter answered and said unto Him, Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice. Peter said unto Him, Though I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee. Likewise also said all the disciples ." (Matthew 26:33-35) We are all very willing to give our best resolve to the Lord at the outset of our spiritual journey. We make many promises to Him in the beginning, when our faith is new, and our experience is limited. Like Peter, we may even pledge our lives in service for Him. These words and promises come very easily to "all the disciples." We simply do not understand as young Christians that this is a process, and that we are growing into spiritual maturity step by step. We cannot run before we learn to walk, and we cannot handle strong meat until we are weaned from milk. "Born again" infers that we start out a