Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul once wrote to Timothy a familiar verse: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15 ESV). What is not so familiar is the next verse, where he wrote: “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” Paul understood a couple of things of which he wrote in these two verses: (1) That he was the chief among the sinners of his time, and thus he needed the salvation Christ offers, and (2) that he had received that mercy for a reason – he had work to do. Like Paul, each one of us has been set apart from the world for a purpose. Paul also wrote “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). No doubt, the church is holy – that is, the church (which means you and me individually as well as collectively) has been sanctified, set apart for God’s special purpose. What purpose is that? The Scriptures say that purpose is good works. The obligation is placed upon every one of us to fulfill that responsibility. In Romans 12:4-5, we are told that each individual within the church is …

Before Jesus told the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24), a man who had heard His teaching said, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15). The Lord’s invitation to become part of the kingdom of heaven, which is the church, is a blessed invitation. The word translated “blessed” is joy that is not dependent on outside circumstances and is derived from one’s relationship with God. To be invited is a joyful moment, but the benefits of the invitation are only realized if the feast is attended. This man knew that blessings resided in the kingdom of God. In fact, all spiritual blessings are found in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). How does one get “in Christ?” One is added to the body of Christ by submitting completely to the Word of God (Romans 6:3-4). When the choice is made to attend, there is reason to celebrate (Acts 8:39; 16:34). The invitation to attend the feast is a royal invitation. In a similar parable that Jesus spoke during the week prior to His death, the “man” who sent forth the invitation was a king (Luke 14:16; Matthew 22:2). The king in Luke 14:16 represents God the Father. Very few people would reject an invitation extended by royalty to attend a banquet. Perhaps even fewer would reject an invitation to attend a meal with their favorite actor or actress. Yet, the God of heaven desires all to attend His feast (John 12:32; 1 Timothy 2:4) and has invited …

Once there were some fishermen who set out from Texas into the Gulf of Mexico. Using the compass on the boat, they left port and headed out about 50 miles to sea into the deep waters where they hoped to catch Bluefin Tuna. When they believed they were right upon the spot they needed to be, they turned on the depth finder and saw that they were well off-course and away from where they wanted to be. One of the fishermen had discovered that a device with a magnet was near the compass, and the magnet affected the reading of the compass. We know from elementary school that magnets can change a compass. Just as this is true, sin in our lives can change our thinking. In John 7:41-42, we see that many of the Jews believed they were going in the right direction by denying that Christ was the Messiah. “Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” However, what was the real issue? Some of the people and religious leaders had a heart problem because they were biased. They denied and resisted Jesus because He was threatening to their power structure and traditions. Surely, they would have thought to examine all the Scriptures and verify Jesus’ identity. Yet, they decided to hold on to what they believed. The …

Quite frequently we hear someone make the statement, “I just don’t believe that God would condemn a person to an eternal hell just for…”, then they finish it with one’s own idea. We also occasionally hear the statement, “It really makes no difference whether…”, again filling in one’s personal thoughts. As an example of the latter, several years ago we viewed a program on a Mississippi television station wherein a woman who called herself an evangelist stated that it didn’t make any difference who did the public preaching, whether it was a man or a woman, just so long as God’s Word was being delivered. To such a person we would pose the question: “Who said that it didn’t make any difference?” In this article we shall notice these kinds of attitudes, and then we will compare them with some biblical accounts. We turn back to the Garden of Eden. There we find man in sweet fellowship with his God who created him. He completely understands the restrictive law that God had given him concerning the eating of the fruit of a certain tree. Using his own subjective reasoning he thought to himself, “I just don’t believe that God would cast us out of this Garden, and then cause death to come upon all humankind that is even yet unborn, just because I would eat of that fruit.” If such thoughts had been his, was he right or wrong? We look next down in Egypt where God’s people were in …

Bad news. It seems like there is a lot of it these days. Our country is once again talking about going to war, we hear almost every day that another marriage breaks up, there are people losing their jobs, some of our dear friends are fighting life-threatening diseases with little hope and many of us are still grieving the deaths of dear friends and family members. Now, I am not sure that these are the worst of times in which we have ever lived, but nevertheless, we are still living in some difficult times. The questions often are asked of me, “How will we cope? How will we deal with all these problems?” Well, what I like to do is go to the Bible and see how the servants of God dealt with their problems, their difficulties and their struggles. One example is the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk; he prophesied in Judah just before Nebuchadnezzar first invaded Jerusalem in 605 B.C. This was about the time when the prophet Daniel was taken into Babylonian captivity. Now, the Lord had spoken to Habakkuk and commissioned him to carry the message that He was going to punish Judah by the hand of the Babylonians. The result of this was that the Jews were going to be taken out of their homeland and carried off to another land because of their refusal to obey God and repent of their sins. Now talk about bad news, Habakkuk was commissioned to tell the people of …

The church and the home are both divine institutions (Matthew 16:18; Genesis 2), which respectively serve the spiritual and social needs of mankind (1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Corinthians 7). Each of the two is distinct in its respective purposes and should be managed accordingly. The respective biblical roles of each must be preserved and respected. Though distinct in their respective purposes and responsibilities, the church and the home have at least one characteristic in common: each of these divine institutions qualifies as a family and should function daily as such. The apostle Paul spoke clearly about the responsibilities of wives and husbands unto one another and applied the principle of a family relationship to Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). He also described the church as being the “household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). Furthermore, Paul spoke of the church as the “house of God” (1 Timothy 3:15). Clearly, the New Testament church is the family of the saved (Ephesians 5:23) and must maintain the character of family internally. As families are established and developed, new members are born into the family. A heart-felt sense of joy is experienced by family members and friends of the family. An enlivening of the family’s spirit is aroused. With fondness the family looks to the future when the newborn child will come of age and honor the family with his maturity and accomplishments as he takes his place in the family and in society. Newborn children are both a blessing and a joyful burden. …

Jesus taught to love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:25-37). Let’s not pass over that phrase “as ourselves.” In order to properly love our neighbors, we must properly love ourselves. Low self-esteem is an improper view of self. Following are some ways to prevent and overcome low self-esteem. Keep the truth that you are made in God’s image close to your heart. God’s image is stamped on every human being. We are unique, and yes, we are useful. We are worth something to God. Jesus approached the reputably poor of society. He realized their value. He realized a tax collector and a harlot could glorify and serve Him. We need to realize that we can serve God, too. Realize that God has work for you to do, and He believes in you. Upon finding out about Jezebel’s death threat, Elijah became depressed and wanted to die. Read 1 Kings 18 and 19 to soak in this situation. He had a warped view of reality. In that mindset, he did not believe he could be useful, but the reality was that God had work for him to accomplish. We need to believe this regarding ourselves and develop a passion for carrying out God’s will for us. Elijah lost his passion for that period of time because he had a warped view of the situation. He didn’t see it as God saw it. God sent an angel of the Lord to let Elijah know He had confidence in him. We need to see it …

Since teachers may occasionally be afraid that they will fail, and since each student needs to learn how to have the courage to stand, I started to entitle this article, “How to Overcome Fear.” Then, I realized that we do not need to overcome fear as much as we need to be courageous. There is a difference! There are various kinds of fears. Hebrews 5:7 says about Jesus, “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to deliver him from death, and was heard in that he feared.” So we do not need to overcome all kinds of fear, but we do need to have courage. Developing courage will help us to overcome the fears that need to be overcome, and more importantly, to function properly in spite of the fears that may still remain. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the will to go on in spite of fear. Let me suggest some things about fears in general, and how to remove some of them. Then, we need to know how to have the courage to serve God and our fellowman in spite of fears. Most of us have fear of failure. In addition to that, we have fear of someone finding out about our failures, sins and shortcomings. Keep in mind that those fears are related, but different. There are rational fears, such as fear of stepping out of …

Temptation is a common problem to us all. To be tempted is not sin, but to yield to or to be overcome by such is to miss the mark – sin. Williams James wrote, “No man has matriculated in the university of life until he has been well tempted.” When temptation comes, we must make a decision concerning it. Only from the Word of God can we find the answer and strength to respond to it in the negative. Paul says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand up against the wiles of the devil.” In the context of Ephesians 5:21-6:9, there apparently was the temptation for wives not to submit themselves to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22), children not to obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1) and servants to rebel against their masters (Ephesians 6:5). The temptation may have been great for some husbands not to love their wives as they should (Ephesians 5:25), for parents who mistreated and provoked their children to wrath (Ephesians 6:4) and for masters to threaten their servants (Ephesians 6:9). Paul recognized the problems in the above relationships and showed them how they could overcome such. Put on the whole armor of God! Let me suggest, Friend, that it is not any different for us today. In all of our relationships, both in and out of the church, there are many temptations, and we, too, must put on the whole armor of God. We must arm ourselves against temptation …

Are you a procrastinator? Many are addicted to the “last minute.” According to effectivetimemanagementstratiges.com, in 1978, 5% of Americans were chronic procrastinators. Today that number is 26%. Procrastination seems to be strangling Americans and maybe even a few Christians living in America. The justification for procrastination varies: Avoidance – avoiding not only the topic or task but places and associated people; Distraction – surfing; Trivialization – not important enough; Laziness; Denial – pretending. Forty percent of people who have experienced financial loss found that it was due to procrastination. Procrastination can be deadly. Many put off tests and checkups only to hear the phrase, “If we could have just caught it sooner.” Many, we know, put off stopping bad behaviors with the idea of, “I’ll quit tomorrow.” Procrastination can have eternal consequences too. In Acts 24, Paul, arrested in Jerusalem, was sent to the governor of the region, Felix, in Caesarea. Because of his influence with the emperor Nero, Felix had obtained the appointment as Governor of Judea. He was a corrupt ruler, and a few years after Paul was sent to him, Felix was replaced with Festus. Felix wanted to hear what Paul had to say, and the governor was not totally ignorant about the teachings of Jesus. The great New Testament preacher Phillip lived in Caesarea. So, in verses 10-21, Felix allowed Paul to speak, and Paul gave a wonderful defense for himself and God. Notice two famous parts of Paul’s speech: “I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a …

The preacher stands behind a pulpit of some kind, And says the things that clearly come to mind, But the truth is very clear, whatever he may say, This one wrote his own funeral as he lived each day. She has left this earthly abode now far behind, She had been gentle, gracious and very kind; She wrote her funeral with acts of love, And her devotion to her God above. What did you write for your funeral today? What did you think, or do, or feel, or say? Did your steps align with the Savior up above? Did your heart follow in His path of love? Every day we take our pen into our hand, And often write things that we’ve not planned, For life is so uncertain, full of surprise, Many chances for choice our life supplies. We cannot say what will come our way, As we walk down the pathway every day, But, no matter what, we can firmly decide We have chosen Jesus, we’re on His side. The most eloquent preacher cannot display The beauty of a life that has walked His way. Like the simple eloquence that shows, In the life of one who the Savior knows. When the time comes that we lay life’s pen aside, We’ve finished our course, we’ve finished our ride May the pages we write, as we finish our days, Make it be obvious we followed the Master’s ways. What did you write for your funeral today? What did you …

One person says God speaks to them. Another has a testimony of their religious experience. Yet another clings to a warm feeling. Do you feel left out? Is God “playing favorites” by communicating to some and not to others? In the Past “Long ago, God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at various times and in many ways” (Hebrews 1:1 McCord’s Translation). For example, in the beginning God spoke directly to Adam (Genesis 3:9-11). However, it became the norm for God to reveal Himself to a select prophet by a vision (Numbers 12:6-8). We are told that Moses was an exception, since God spoke directly to him. In the subsequent years, God chose various prophets to deliver His message to the people. Consider the example of Jeremiah. “And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Jehovah had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him, saying, Thou shalt surely die” (Jeremiah 26:8). Notice that God did not speak directly to each person; God’s prophet served as His mouthpiece. The Greatest Prophet “God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2). In the New Testament era, God spoke to us by His Son (fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18:18-19). Jesus is greater than the wise man …

Paul proclaimed Jesus as the ultimate example of exhibiting the mind of a servant. The apostle followed that example in serving the church in Philippi. He was able to broaden his service to the various churches by sending faithful messengers to them. It was the apostle’s hope that it would be the Lord’s will that Timothy could soon be sent to check on the welfare of the church at Philippi. His purpose would be to deliver word from Paul to them and report back to the apostle the things he had seen in the church. Paul expected the report to be good, as he said it would comfort him (Philippians 2:1-19). Timothy was the one upon whom Paul could depend to be concerned only for the welfare of the church (Philippians 2:20). He told the Corinthian brethren, “Now if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do” (1 Corinthians 16:10). Paul’s confidence in Timothy can be seen as he described him as a fellow worker, “true son in the faith” and a brother who had preached among the Corinthians (Romans 16:21; 1 Timothy 1:2, 18; 2 Timothy 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1, 19). Concern for the church at Thessalonica drove Paul to choose to be left alone in Athens and to send “Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your …

Unless you have been around a lot of years you would not remember actor William Bendix and his radio show, “The Life of Riley.” Both TV and radio programs back years ago were designed to entertain with clean, wholesome dispositions. Such was our hapless hero Riley. His frequent exclamation of indignation was “What a revoltin’ development this is!” That expression became one of the most famous catchphrases of the 1940’s. Riley was always in trouble because of his mistakes or his family and life in general. Within any lifespan, all of us will have troubles. Some are minor, and others will cut your heart and soul to bits. Such is life! “Nothing is permanent in this wicked world – not even our troubles.” Charlie Chaplin (1889 – 1977) “Troubles are often the tools with which God fashions us for better things.” Henry Ward Beecher (1813 – 1887) “Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles.” Harry S. Truman (1884 – 1972) “I have spent most of my life worrying about things that have never happened.” Mark Twain (1835 –1910) I must admit that I have been troubled many times, and I know I cannot, for the most part, have any influence to change what bothers me. To illustrate, presently I am distressed with our current political parties and national government. However, like you, we press on to do the best we can. With this thought, I go for strength to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. With …

The Ethiopian eunuch read from Isaiah 53:1-12 (Acts 8:26-35). Phillip used the passage as a springboard into preaching about Christ. God had in the long ago planned for Christ to suffer so that sin’s debt might be paid and we might be saved (Genesis 3:15; Ephesians 1:9-10; 2:15-16). The “we” introduced suddenly in verse 2 is the nation Israel. Verse 1 wants to know, “who has believed our report” or “who has believed the report that was common among us?” This parallels the second question, “and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” The word “arm” is used to designate power and might. For instance, one who made flesh his arm trusted in man’s power instead of God’s power (Jeremiah 17:5). God’s arm is strong and will break the arms of His enemies (Deuteronomy 4:34; 5:15; Ezekiel 30:21). Israel should have seen God’s power in the work of Jesus (John 20:30-31; Acts 2:22; Matthew 12:22-30; Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Those who reject Jesus today have simply closed their eyes to the truth as revealed through that powerful display (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). Jesus grew up under God’s watchful and protective eye (Matthew 2:1-23, especially 12-13). Jesus had a lowly beginning in a land of conquered people and from a house as good as dead; thus he sprang up like a tender plant from the root of a tree cut down and now in dry ground. Yet, God had promised a Savior from the house of David (Acts 2:29-31). …

Does today bring a difficult choice, a bad situation or a real temptation for you? How will you meet it and overcome it? How will you make sure that you stay on God’s path? “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Today, you’ll have choices, decisions and temptations. Will you make choices that lead you into a closer relationship with God? Will your choices prove God to be the most important part of your life? Will you let the Lord direct your steps as you make your plans, choices and decisions?

God wants us to make resolutions regarding our service for Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Therefore, I will not quit in my service for Christ. Instead I will be “steadfast” (1 Corinthians 15:58). We don’t need to waiver, we don’t need to change direction, we don’t need to fall, and we don’t need to quit. The word “steadfast” is from the Greek “hedraios.” According to Strong, it means “sedentary… immovable: settled…” Every saint from the first to the twenty-first century needs to heed this exhortation. Neither will I move from my service for Christ. Instead, I will be “unmovable.” Because we know death is defeated and we serve a risen Savior, we should stand firm and unshakable all the more for Him right now and every day of our lives. We should work hard in everything now, working for the Lord, because right now counts forever! I will not become complacent in my service for Christ. Instead, I will be “always abounding.” W.E. Vine defined the Greek word rendered “abounding” (“perisseuo”) in this passage as “to be abundantly furnished, to abound in a thing…the work of the Lord.” Hence, one who “abounds” has an overflowing abundance. Consider the account of Jesus’ instructions to Simon Peter recorded in Luke 4:5-10. The Lord said, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” When Peter obeyed and let down the nets as Christ directed, he and his fishing companions caught such a vast number of fishes that their nets broke, and the ship …

In this New Year, we need to look back to the years gone by and learn lessons from them. Sometimes people caution us to never look back, but that would be disastrous because if we didn’t look back, we would never realize or admit the mistakes we made. We should rather want to look back to remember things we didn’t do right or things we should have done better. Hopefully, we can look back and find satisfaction in knowing that we admitted the mistakes and did our best to correct them. God expects us to do that. In His Law to the children of Israel, we read God’s instructions to them to “remember all the way which the Lord God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble and prove you and to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 8:2). From this, we see that God not only intends for His people to look forward, but He also expects them to look back so that they may learn from what has happened in the past. In other words, God’s intent is that we learn from our mistakes and become better people in His service. Frequently when we ask someone about something or talk about something that happened, we hear, “I can’t remember.” A good deal of this lack of remembering comes from the aging process when our minds become more limited, and they are so full of things from …

A New Year is always a good time to pause for reflection. I remember years ago my best friend and I figuring up how old we’d be when the year 2,000 would arrive, and we wondered if we’d ever live that long, and what we would be like if we did. Happily, we both made it to that milestone and beyond. What seemed so long away then doesn’t seem that far back now. However, it does give one the opportunity to realize that with each passing year we draw closer to the time when our days here will end, and we become part of eternity. What seemed like at the time to be an endless supply of days in the future, now grows fewer and fewer. However, I should have realized even then, there is no guarantee on the number of days we have, even in our youth. As James reminds us, we are a vapor or mist that is here for a little while, and then vanishes away (James 4:14). So, how does all this affect one’s perspective for a New Year? We should realize how important the number of our days are and live each day for the One who provides them to us. While we all have a life to live, it’s the height of selfishness to let each day pass by without considering God’s will for our lives for each day. He is both the Giver and Sustainer of our existence. Paul tells us, “For if we live, …

This controversial law has been in the news of late, especially since the killing of a teenager in the state of Florida. There are pros for and nays against this law, probably because of the abuse of it in some instances. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, defines the “Stand Your Ground” law as follows: “A stand-your-ground law is a type of self-defense law that gives individuals the right to use deadly force to defend themselves without any requirement to evade or retreat from a dangerous situation. It is law in certain jurisdictions within the United States. The basis may lie in either statutory law or common law precedents or both.” Forty-six states in the United States have adopted the castle doctrine, that a person has no duty to retreat whatsoever when their home is attacked. Twenty-two states go a step further, removing the duty of retreat from other locations outside the home. Such “stand your ground,” “Line in the Sand” or “No Duty to Retreat” laws thus state that a person has no duty or other requirement to abandon a place in which he has a right to be, or to give up ground to an assailant. Under such laws, there is no duty to retreat from anywhere the defender may legally be. Would you be surprised to learn that the Lord Jesus Christ requires every Christian to “Stand Your Ground” when threatened by a certain enemy and his devices? In fact, the expression, “stand your ground” is in the Bible. Please read …

Consider 2 Corinthians 9:8, which reads, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” Herein a divine promise is made that we will always have all sufficiency in all things so that we may abound unto every good work. The promise is certain because it is given by our omnipotent God, who is completely able to make all grace abound toward us. Contextually, the wonderful blessings of this promise come as a result of our practicing God’s teaching on sowing and reaping. Specifically, we will reap for two reasons: (1) Our sowing has been bountiful. (2) God has promised, through His grace, to bless us. Let us reflect upon the ability of our God to bless us. In this lesson we will show an example of how our God is able to bless us in what we do when we follow His commandments. Our God is able to save us. This salvation is exclusively through the Christ. “Wherefore He [Christ] is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). The blessing of salvation is bestowed when we obey the Gospel. “And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). Obedience opens the door to man’s greatest gift, that is, the gift of salvation. Seeing that …

 It is accepted and agreed upon by all who name the name of Jesus that it is His blood that cleanses us and saves us. The great debate seems to fall around when and where we contact that blood. Some contend that nothing is required of us, but His blood automatically has saved all. Others argue that the blood is applied only through belief or acceptance (sometimes accompanied by the sinner’s prayer). Still others affirm that the blood is only appropriated through obedience to the Gospel. What does the Bible have to say on the subject?  Jesus shed His blood inHis death (John 19:33-34). We are baptized intoHis death (Romans 6:3). Jesus shed His blood forremission of sins (Matthew 26:28). We are baptized forremission of sins (Acts 2:38). Jesus shed His blood so we could havea clean conscience (Hebrews 9:13-14). Baptism is an appeal for aclean conscience (1 Peter 3:21). Jesus shed His blood so we could be washed from our sins (Revelation 1:5). We are baptized to be washedfrom our sins (Acts 22:16). [Editor’s Note: God, through the inspired Bible, makes the inescapable correlation between the saving blood of Jesus Christ and immersion (Colossians 2:12) in water for the remission of sins. Hebrews 5:8-9 declares that Jesus Christ saves obedient souls. The penalty for not obeying the Gospel is “flaming fire,” “everlasting destruction” and eternal separation “from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; 1 Peter 4:17). Obedient souls will comply with our Lord’s instruction (Luke 6:46) to believe and to …

When reading the Book of Acts, there are many names that are well known from Paul’s journeys. Men such as Paul, Silas, Barnabas, Timothy, Apollos and others are easily recognized and their exploits remembered. However, there are also a number of disciples whose lives are not as elaborately detailed in Scripture, but they serve just as much a lesson to us today. Tucked away in a few verses of Acts 17 is the mention of one such disciple by the name of Jason. We know nothing about this man’s background, occupation or personal connection with any of the apostles. He is not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture other than a possible mention by Paul in Romans 16:21. Yet in a few short verses of Acts 17, his actions have a lasting impact and bear an eternal reminder of the type of disciples God needs. Consider the text about this disciple. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And …