Aquila nd Priscilla #4
Our grandson, Robert, is having heart problems(blockage) & we ask that everyone pray with us.
Years ago a gentleman from Illinois called to see if he could visit. He was our first visitor & continued for years. He was a
fighter pilot in WWII. He died a few years ago & this week his wife ,Savella, passed away. They were such dear friends.
We arrived back in Guatemala around noon & it is good to be home. It is so hot following the frigid weather we experienced the last 5 weeks in the states.
This is Dr Hines summary of my exam: “Mike’s main problem is caused by spinal stenosis at L2-3 and L3-4 which requires decompression but besides disc, he has slippage of L2 on L3 and L3 on L4 which requires pins (? Instead of fusion). Dr. Nanda stated pain should be determining factor. I agree that waiting too long is not a good idea.”
The first truth we learned was that Aquila and Priscilla were instruments of hospitality. Who cooked the meals? Who washed the clothes? Who made the bed? They were not wealthy folks who had servants. So we have to assume that Priscilla did not just opne the door to guests but she served them.
Paul says in Romans 16:13 that he wanted the church in Rome to greet the mother of Rufus who was “like a mother to me”. All through the history of the church there have been many who have served others in the name of Jesus so that those folks could go about the business of ministering. Jesus had women around him who served him. See Mark15! People today are so isolated and hiding behind the curtains of their home that they just do not minister to others with hospitality.
So we see they opened their home as a guest house and secondly they opened their home as a teaching center. In Lafayette last Sunday a woman came to me and shared that 35 years ago before she was saved she listened to my tapes on family and faith. Then a lady shared with me that she had over 500 of my teaching tapes and had 4 other women over to her home weekly to study them. Although I was tremendously blessed to hear of this the lesson here is that she opened her home as a teaching center for others to come to Christ or to grow deeper as a Christian.
Aquila and Priscilla went to the synagogue and heard a young man named Apollos preach the word. He was from Alexandria and had been converted from Judaism to Christ. He preached vigorously the Bible says. Acts 18:25 says that Apollos knew “only the baptism of John”. Of course, this means he knew what salvation was and he was faithful to teach others about Christ and lead them to Jesus but he could not take them deeper spiritually.
So Aquila and Priscilla invited him into their home and instructed him in the truths that they had learned. So when he left them and went to Corinth he had been prepared not in a seminary but at the kitchen table with a husband and wife that knew the Word well enough to share truth with him. We ALL need someone to take us deeper. One of the great things about home teaching is that we can be free to share, ask questions and debate in love.
But what I see is a young man already preaching in the synagogues and yet was willing to sit and learn from an older and experienced couple. He did not believe that he knew it all. He was not too proud to seek help from another Christian.
Stay tuned!