By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8-9.

When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:6-8 NKJV.

As I was sitting with God this morning in prayer and praying for family, I realized how blessed we are that we are and – that our loved ones are. We are here because Creator God created and loves. Learning from Him brings me a joy because His truth is beautiful. And in our chapter, Acts 20, there is a lot of traveling by Paul. I confess the names of the places are foreign to me not having been very good at geography, and it’s difficult from the account to know how much time is transpiring. Paul goes to Macedonia, Greece, back through Macedonia, Philippi, and finally Troas, v. 1-6. And here, for anyone who has sat through a very long sermon and understands the fatigue, we find Paul wanting to give as much information as he can because he knows his time is short to teach. On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and feel down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. v. 7-12. They continue to travel to Assos, Mitylene, Chios, Samos, Miletus, and finally to Ephesus, v. 13-16. Paul was wanting to go to Jerusalem by Pentecost but while in Ephesus he called the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear in myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship. v. 18-38.

It’s good to imagine what this was like for Paul and for the early church because changes were being made that allows for all that Creator God promised, that He would draw all men to Himself. We see the divisions in all men today so it’s not difficult to imagine the difficulties then and in every age. But these beautiful words…repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ…the gospel of the grace of God…the whole purpose of God…the word of His grace…and the words of Jesus…It is more blessed to give than to receive. For that is what Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, does. He gives. He heals. He loves. He teaches. He upholds. He blesses. And when we turn to Him, we find the joy God brings intimately into our own hearts in His amazing Love. And to learn with His help opens the doors of our own hearts to communion with Him and His love for us greater than anything we can know on our own. He helps us go deep. As we live in a fractured world given to anger and condemnation and fear, He helps us see love all around us now that we can appreciate when we turn away from anger and condemnation. Love of family and friends and beloved pets (even our pets need the peace of God’s love with us); love for His beautiful creation in all its forms; love of brethren; love of strangers to us who are not strangers to God but dearly loved. That part is hard! That’s why we need Creator God. That’s why He is here always. We but need to ask and be open to receive. And then what blessings we find in Him. And His love and deep teaching is ongoing for all eternity. Wow! Truly!