DAILY MEDITATION

Now after Paul and Silas had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul entered the synagogue, as was his [a]custom, and for three Sabbaths he engaged in discussion and friendly debate with them from the Scriptures, explaining and pointing out [scriptural evidence] that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you, is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).” And some of them were persuaded to believe and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and many of the leading women. But the [unbelieving] Jews became jealous, and taking along some thugs from [the lowlifes in] the market place, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and then attacking Jason’s house tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people. But when they failed to find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too; and Jason has welcomed them [into his house and protected them]! And they all are saying things contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] claiming that there is another king, Jesus.” They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

Acts 17:1-8

Transformational Living is achieved by believing in Jesus. Believing in Jesus helps us to be anchored in what should be; keeping us focused and forging ahead even in the midst of death, hell, and grave experiences., The tensions of transformation are real as we seek to move from where we are to where we should be. Further, as we decide and choose to believe in Jesus, thus transforming our lives, the people, places, and things connected to our space and us are also disbursed and will often react negatively. There is nothing like the pain of those within our community space that resist and reject our transformation. In order to resist the negativity that can arise internally with us as a result of our community space becoming uncomfortable with our transformation, believing in Jesus anchors and fuels us to go through in order to get to. Believing on Jesus as our anchor and fuel positions us to fully exist in our transformation as a witness, transformer, and risk taker - Occupying Our Promise by building out our well-lived and joy filled life while also offering a model for others to also enjoy the life and life more abundantly promised!