“When we arrived, the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly. The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present.  After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.  After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously. Acts 21:17-20 NLT 

From Tyre they journeyed southward to Caesarea and stayed with Philip the evangelist (not the Apostle Philip, but one of the seven deacons chosen in Acts 6:5.) Here, Paul spent a few peaceful, happy days – the last of perfect freedom that he was to enjoy.  

The time soon came for the brief stay a Caesarea to end and so the company set out for Jerusalem, 120kms away, which would constitute about a three days’ journey. For the fifth time since his conversion, Paul re-entered Jerusalem – a place full of memories – The school of Gamaliel, the Synagogue of the Libertines, the house where the High Priest had given him his commission to Damascus, the spot where the reddened grass had drunk the blood of Stephen. All these recollections must have stirred his heart. But never had he trod the streets of the Holy City with so deep a sadness as now. He was going into a city where friends were few and where well-nigh every one of the myriads among whom he moved was an actual potential enemy, to whom the mere mention of his name might be enough to make the dagger flash from its scabbard or to startle a cry of hatred which would be the signal for a furious outbreak. Our brave Apostle had been misunderstood, maligned, mistreated, and often reviled. He had, nevertheless, pressed on in faith. How can we learn to do the same in discouraging circumstances?  True faith is a reliance on God despite our circumstances. As Paul says in Heb11:1, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” Faith is confident reliance on the future; a conviction of the invisible. Hard times do not produce character, they reveal it. Peter says, “We have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.” (2Pet1:19) Clinging to Christ in the dark times, is evidence we have clung to Him in the easy times of our life – both can be perilous to our faith. The “great cloud of witnesses” are the patriarchs in heaven’s hall of fame listed in Heb.11. Like them we are to “run with perseverance the race set before us, looking to Jesus…” Heb.12:1-2. 

You and I have a life to live and a race to run which is beset with many difficulties, many temptations, and many sorrows. Hebrews 11 reminds us that this life has been lived and the race has been run by countless others before us. They are God’s witnesses that encourage us to press forward with fresh zeal and hope. Our lives are like the moon; always only a reflection of the sun. Always waxing and waning. At its best still full of holes. Like the moon, without the Son, we are nothing, just a tiny speck of dust in the universe. Remember it is the circumstances around us that could prevent us from obtaining the victor’s crown if we allow the buccaneer of the universe to board our vessel and steal our treasure. The treasures of joy, peace, sonship, and eternal assurance