I often taken back by President Trump ability to fake his own news. A man able to look at the sunny side up of things, but at what expense of truth. If we look at Cov19 we have to remember two things people died, and people got sick around the world. Changed economics very quickly for all, but with death came open job market and unemployment to drop in a different way. Presdient Trump can not take credit for it only China can. With that said we have to think for a moment this is not funny but serious, have we fail to see what been given up for change in our land. Many hearts this morning would say they would give one last moment with a love one or friend. Yet people still make light of the situation based on the fact we must move forward and can not remain in sorrow. We can not remain in the past which is easy to do. Rescue, fire fighters, and medical teams no the seriousness of death and yet also the flippant joke of not me today attitude. It stinks but it is a reality that must be fought to overcome the adversity of the world in crisis and situation. It one that angers many.

Paul when he give up his title as circumcised the eighth day of Israel from the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of Hebrews, touching the law, a pharisees. Now titles are easy to gain and easy to lose. There value today not so great. The titles of Paul were given to family line of the children of Israel by natural birth, not so easily departed, without giving up of religious law that binded around the arm of the Israelite. It was the giving up of who he once was. I was looking at old pictures last night and came a cross one of myself that I now reflect and say who is this girl, this person of seventeen years. If she had known at seventeen what she might loose to have what she has today, would she still hold to all she knows about her own faith. Faith is something you can not trade easily. Paul did not give up his heritage as some might think in this passage. We have to understand that those of Jewish faith that did not convert to Christianity would of rejected Paul. Paul was from Tarus, not from Jerusalem in regards to where he was born. His family may not of seen the resurrection, yet he believe in the resurrection of Jesus. He was not there, nor did he witness the empty grave, but he witness Jesus on the side of the road of Damacus and gave up his Jewish faith to follow Christ.

Now the Jewish faith is part of Christianity, so he not giving it up as far as believing in God but it was more of a feeling perhaps of feeling alone at the loss of friends and maybe even family. Now Paul family is not spoken about, but we know that every temple he entered to share Christ, and was kicked out of, was only example of persecution he had to endure from people that we biologically part of his family tree, even by distant cousin sake. It is a casting out from one tree right into the tree of family of God sometimes. There many faiths around the world that reject Christianity, so individuals have to give up what they know for the sake of Gospel. To do so, comes with emotional, physical, and spiritual gain. To choose to be different then your friends because you are convinced Jesus is the only way for those inside the church should make no sense, but even church reject people over doctorine and other issues that arise within the church world.

When someone says they are rejected by their former faith don't sneer, because they gave up all to follow Jesus. There is a difference in being rejected for disobedience to a family and being rejected for following your convictions. Now Paul knew what he gave up was more powerful then the tradition he gave up. Now if the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New, what he walked into was the freedom of faith from the law of sin and death, not free from sin in regards it okay to sin, but freedom from the law that killed you because you sinned, unless murder, or something of this nature. Christ had paid for the punishment that separated us from God. Paul knew that sometimes even he did things that he should not do. He learned that when he walked by the Spirit of God there was hope not to transgress the law of faith, but to the power to turn from evil. How many times did he face a beating or a stoning and maybe even felt anger of going through it, and yet the power of God enabled his endurance.

How many times had Paul used his status of being Roman to get out of trouble. How many times did Paul face adversity to spread the Gospel, but he did not give up because of his conviction. He was will to suffer loss, and pain for the Gospel. He was willing to run the course God had set before him to endure. He was willing to take the cup that God had dealt him and suffer loss. He was man convinced of Jesus resurrection and that he would go home to be with Jesus. He had no fear of what laid ahead in his life. He could not change his danger, or how people treated him, but he knew that the hope laid insight. That hope of home in glory(heaven). That hope of home where the streets were gold, where Jesus waited him to say well good and faithful servant. To run that race, God had given him to run by his grace, through the hope of the cross of Calvary, through faith, by repentance and confession of sin to the knowledge of God's forgiveness and grace and comfort by the Holy Spirit. If there not been healing in Paul's ministry by his hand, by the power of the Holy Spirit would he been as convinced probably not. If the Spirit had not confirmed to Paul his own cross would he still walked it. Confirmed by showing him repeatly he was a child of God by the working of God's spirit in his life.

He knew the hope and that hope is for you and I to have, to know the power of the Holy Spirit in our own life according to the will of God, and to know the power of the resurrection that Christ rose again, and we to will have eternal life if we continue the road of faith in Christ Jesus. That hope is ours if we believe in Jesus, confess our sins and ask for forgiveness of our sins, God is faithful to forgive us our sins. He is faithful because he already shown us that his promise is true by sending Jesus to die for our sins, for sending his Spirit to all believers to give us comfort and hope.

Dear Heavenly Father help us not to worry about what we leave behind, but what we move forward to gain. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: Romans 8:35-39 KJV
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.