"For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. And they praised God because of me." Galatians 1:13-24

• First off, forgive me for not posting! I have been down with the flu and have just started getting better. I didn't forget about you guys!
  
• Paul was the best of the best. Before being saved, he was going all out for Judaism. He was raised and lived his whole life to further Judaism. Philippians 3:4-6 says "though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless." He was living the life everyone wanted. He had done everything perfect and was advancing in Judaism straight to the top. When God met Paul on the Damascus road, he did a 180 and left all of that behind because he "counted them as loss for Christ." He dropped reputation, pride, friends, and his future in Judaism to follow Christ.
  
• After his conversion, Paul didn't go to man or go to the apostles to learn from them. He went straight into the deserts of Saudi Arabia and spent 3 and 1/2 years studying and listening to God. He didn't want to have any influences from man in his teachings but wanted to sit before God and just listen. So this gospel Paul taught was birthed through a time of intimacy with God. This shows the importance of alone time with God. We cannot grow if we aren't listening for that still small voice of God. James 4:8 promises that if we draw near to Him, he will draw near to us and meet us where we are at just like he met Paul where he was at.
  
• The reason Paul had all the answers is because he was searching for them in the Word and through prayer. James 1:5. God will give wisdom to those who ask for it. And he has given us all the answers in His word but we need to dig in and search them out.
  
• After Paul's 3 and 1/2 years in the desert, he returned to Damascus as a teacher instead of a persecutor . He spent 3 years teaching them before finally going to Jerusalem.
  
• Paul stayed with James for 15 days. This is not James brother of John the fisherman because that James had already been martyred before Paul arrived. This was James brother of Jesus who wrote the book of James. After Jerusalem, Paul went back to Tarsus and went back to his old profession of tent making. Again this seems like a job where he would have plenty of time to think and talk to God. He grew in his relationship with God because he spent time with Him. If two people get married and never talk to each other, the relationship will never work. Every relationship requires that intimacy. Draw near to Him!
• The church in Jerusalem was a little fearful because of Paul's old life. He has harshly persecuted the church and we responsible for many deaths. But when they received the report that he was serving God they rejoiced. Paul's story gives me hope. That God would take someone who imprisoned and killed HIS people and not only use him for His glory but to love him. This shows we can never mess up to the point of no return. He will always love you and will never leave you nor forsake you.
• I encourage you to make alone time with Him. If you set aside that time He will make the most of it! Not only will you grow in a deeper relationship with Him but you will, like Paul, begin to have those answers.
  

"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" Galatians 1:11-12

After reading this, I begin contemplating the authenticity of the Bible. I have always heard arguments where people say "The Bible was written so long ago, we cannot prove its accuracy." or that there is no historical evidence of in favor of the Bible. So I decided to take a day and scour the web to try and find if our Bible 1. Is the Word God intended for us to have and 2. Has any historical standing.

When compared with other works, I was very surprised! Here is what I found:

OLD TESTAMENT:
Up until 1946, the oldest complete copy of the Old Testament was "Codex Babylonicus Petropalitanus" from AD 1008, more than 1,400 years after the Old Testament was completed. In 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. These scrolls close the gap to about 200 years. So in that gap when man could have added whatever he wanted, such as prophecies about Christ, did he? The answer is: No! There were no changes between "Codex Babylonicus Petropalitanus" and the Dead Sea Scrolls. This shows the Jewish people were great at keeping records and that the Old Testament we have today is completely reliable and trustworthy.

The Bible mentions the Hittites forty times, but for centuries there was no secular record so they were presumed to not exist. In 1906, a German archeologist uncovered what is now known as the Hittite Empire capitol. This shows the Bible knew things before any human ever did!

NEW TESTAMENT:



WORK WRITTEN Earliest Copy Time Span Number of Copies

• Herodotus------------488-428 BC-----AD 900------------1,300-----------------8
• Thucydides-----------460-400BC-----AD 900------------1,300-----------------8
• Tacticus--------------AD 100---------AD 1100-----------1,000-----------------20
• Ceasar's Gallic Wars--58-50 BC-------AD 900------------950------------------9-10
• Livy's Roman History-59BC-AD17----AD 900------------900------------------20
• New Testament------AD40-100------AD 130------------300------------------5,000 Greek, 10,000 Latin, and 9,300 others.
  

From the table, we can see that the earliest existing documents concerning Roman history were found 900 years (Almost 1 whole Millenium) after the events happened and only 20 copies exist. Yet Roman history is taught as complete fact even to this day. The Bible manuscripts date from only 30-150 years after they happened and more than 30,000 copies exist. By comparison, Roman history becomes a mere fairy tale.

What makes the bible so special?
The Bible was written over a period of about 1,500 years by more than 40 authors from various backgrounds (Joshua-Military General, Daniel-Prime Minister, Peter-Fisherman, Nehemiah-Cup Bearer, ETC) in many locations (Wilderness-Moses, Prison-Paul, Patmos Exile-John, ETC) on three different continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe) and in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek) yet the Bible is in complete unity. There is not one place where it contradicts itself.


2 Timothy 3:16 is true where it says that all scripture is God Breathed. He gave us His very word and protected it for thousands of years. The Bible has not only proven the test of time, but it has history backing it up.

Hello, My name is Jerry Dayton and I am new to this blog because I just arrived in King’s Lynn last Thursday.

Coffee Outreach
The outreach on Saturday went very well. We served tea, coffee, doughnuts, and these sausage rolls that were served cold and I wasn’t brave enough to try. Mac and I also played/practiced worship for about four hours, while the rest of the team shared and ministered to the guests from the community. A couple of our first visitors were a pair of Bobbies, with whom God gave us great favor. They were not just impressed with what we were doing, but they informed us of a website we could visit to announce our activities as a church to the community. Then after enjoying their refreshments, they returned to their work of patrolling the town center, all the while telling people about the outreach. They said they plan to attend the opening service tomorrow. Overall I believe we had more than thirty people wander in for a dry space, hot drinks, a bit of food and warm conversation. That is not including our team of about nine. Unlike last time when Mac said people quickly ate their food and left, people milled about for quite a while, some for even a couple of hours. It was a blessed time of actually engaging with the community and many said they planned to return in the future. I thank you for your prayers and ask that you continue diligently because people are pretty skeptical. The comment was made today that if we are giving away free food, there must be something wrong with it. (Like it’s poisoned) I kid you not. And one couple said that if we have so much money that we can give away free food we could give them the money instead. While this sounds strange and even a bit amusing, so many here are hurting and desperate for connection.

Our First Service in the Church Building
I cannot even pretend to relate to the struggle and sacrifice those who have arrived before me have endured and overcome. The Proffits have worked extremely hard to carve out a place of ministry here in the hard soil of King’s Lynn and I was amazed to see it in action. I am not sure if my goose bumps Sunday morning were from the cold or the incredible sound of voices echoing off the old brick walls of the warehouse turned church as Mac lead worship. Vince continued in the book of Acts and as the trek took us to the end of chapter fourteen it fit our situation perfectly. After all the prayer and waiting on my visa it was a blessing to sit with my pastor at the feet of Christ, bathed in His Word. Having been given the honor of passing out communion, the sweetest moment of the service for me came when I offered the juice to a new fellow in the church. The joy on his face over partaking of the Lords sacrifice was overwhelming because many churches here will only permit you to join in communion if you have been baptized into that specific church. Oh how we take for granted our freedom of worship in the states. After service we fellowshipped, ate pastries and drank tea. There is always tea. Then after more than an hour of enjoying each other’s company church still was not over because most of those in attendance migrated back to the Proffit’s home for a late lunch. Marie prepared fabulous traditional English soup, perfect for warming the soul from the inside out on such a cold and rainy day. The Proffit family were joined by Tony, Sherry and myself from the states, Alex who came down from the bible college in York, and a handful of members of the church in King’s Lynn. We talked, Laughed and played games well into the night. The sense of community as the body of Christ, and the feeling of family are indescribable. God’s hand is clearly at work, but there are still so many unreached hearts in this place. Please go to war on your knees for the people of King’s Lynn