I started reading Acts this week, and when I got to the part where the 11 apostles chose a replacement for Judas, I got to thinking about Paul, a man who was late to the game.
Paul was different from the other apostles. Not only was he absent from the early church, he was violently persecuting it. In Acts 7, he stood by and watched the stoning of Stephen, consenting to his death. In Acts chapter 8 we see him again, this time going from house to house to drag men and women off to prison. It wasn’t until four years after the church started that Paul was converted and started to preach.
As I got to thinking about him today, I was reminded how even though he was late, he was a vital part of the church. Paul says himself in 2 Corinthians 11:5 that he was not a whit behind the other apostles. If anything he excelled them in ministry.
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10, KJV)
So, what am I saying here? That it’s never too late to serve God. Some people might say it’s too late to be used or it’s too late to go into ministry. Do you know what I say to that? Look at all that Jesus accomplished in the span of three years.
God doesn’t forget to set his watch or check His calendar–He knows exactly when and how His plan will unfold. God chose to use Paul at the precise moment He did, not one minute sooner, not one minute late.
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Tilling the Soil
Have you ever felt like it’s too late to do something? Too late to learn piano? Too late to go back to high school? Too late to start teaching Sunday School? Too late to write a book? Pray, asking God to use you in His way and in His time.
Planting Hope
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10, KJV)
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Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.
She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.
It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.
Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.
Connect with Darlene:
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You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife