High Tea With Apostle Paul

I had an overwhelming reading experience during my tea break yesterday afternoon when I was reading Apostle Paul’s Epistles. It was as if Paul, the Apostle of Grace, was personally there to share with me his insight on the type of fragrance from a believer.

Apostle Paul was circumcised on the 8th days, from the nation of Israel and tribe of Benjamin. He was a true Hebrew. As a Pharisee, he strictly obeyed the Law of Moses. He was so eager that he even made trouble for the church; he did everything the Law demands in order to please God.

But God who set him apart in his mother’s womb, shown him through Christ that what he once thought was valuable but worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Jesus Christ our Lord. He gave up everything else and counted it all as dung! Indeed, Paul counted his deeds through legalistic righteousness as filthy rags.

Paul resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified; the power and the wisdom of God which is a stumbling block to those who are religious and foolishness to the people of the world. He was proud of the Gospel because it is God’s powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. The good news tells how God accepts everyone who has faith, but only those who have faith. It is just as the Scriptures say, “The people God accepts because of their faith will live.”

Paul was grateful that God always made it possible for Christ to lead them to victory in his calling to preach the gospel. God also helped them spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of sweet perfume. In fact, God thinks of them as a sweet perfume that brought Christ to everyone…

(I used Contemporary English Version Bible at High Tea.)