LOOK UP!

The dungeon was dark and damp.  Rodents raced across the floor and fleas gnawed at the flesh. The smell of sweat and urine hung heavy in the air.  The sound of men cursing and crying reverberated off the stone walls. Soon, there would be other sounds—iron soled boots echoing as soldiers marched down the corridor, the clanging of a key turning a lock, the squealing of a heavy iron door swinging on rusty hinges, and the brusk command, “Come with me.”  The old preacher would have his head laid on the chopping block, the sharp sword of the executioner would fall—head one way, body another, soul another—and Paul, the Apostle would be set free from this sinful world and be welcomed into glory.  Knowing his time was short, he penned these final words.  

By no means, do I count myself worthy to be named in the same sentence as that champion of faith, but I can share his words that are so fitting in the times we live. God wiling, that is our planned course of study for the week—Paul’s final days in these final days of 2020.  My call to you is to “Look up!”