Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 11:1, “Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.”
On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox County Court House in Virginia. After four years of battles and 600,000 men killed, the war between the states was over. Sort of. Unfortunately, Lee’s surrender of his Virginia Army did not officially end the war, and many more battles occurred after that historic meeting. In fact, a couple days after Lee signed the surrender agreement, Union General Sherman captured my hometown of Raleigh, after Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered General Johnston to resume fighting. However, Johnston knew his troops were no match for Sherman, and his surrender of 90,000 men was the largest of the entire war. Way down in Texas, along the Rio Grande river, more than a month had passed since Appomattox when what most consider the last soldier’s death of the Civil War occurred. During the Battle of Palmito Ranch, Private John J. Williams was the final soldier to lose his life in our nation’s bloodiest war. Among the oddities ubiquitous with the 19th century, the news of these developments did not spread as quickly as you and I are used to today. And, depending on which side of the road you may have lived on, the news of surrender and the ultimate victory by the Union was met with differing degrees of enthusiasm. But regardless of one’s stake or personal stance in the matter, there was no denying the need for the horrors of the Civil War to end. Nevertheless, some were against it, despite the greater strength and unity that was intended once the weapons were laid down.
And so it would seem for many who heard of the advancement of the gospel back in the days of Peter. Even the apostles of Jesus, those most closely associated with Him, were not pleased that Peter had supped with and preached to the Gentiles, despite the command of Christ to do so. Our calling today as a church is to be making this sort of news, taking God’s word where it is desperately needed, regardless of the resistance and how the news is received. There is still a war going on, and Jesus has equipped us to wage it on His behalf.
As we seek Him today, follow your orders as an obedient soldier of the Lord.
Have a great Monday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
