602                       A.  M.  E. REVIEW.

Iconium, Lystria, Derbe, retraces his journey back to Antioch and reports
his work to the home church. He goes up to the council in Jerusalem in
interest of the home church, where in conference with Peter, James and
others a peaceful adjustment of things was reached and he returns to Antioch
with greetings from the mother church and plans his second missionary tour.
  His second journey begins also at Antioch. He revisits points in Asia
Minor and crosses into Europe. This was a most fruitful journey. On
this tour, he enlists Timothy as a disciple and hears the Macedonian call
from Europe, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." "And immediately
he endeavored to go." The great apostle to the Gentiles must cross into
Europe. It will be remembered that nearly four centuries before this,
Alexander with thirty thousand infantry and four thousand five hundred
cavalry crossed the Hellespont out of Europe into Asia for himself but
behold a greater than Alexander, with probably but two others beside him-
self in the flesh but with angels hovering around, crossed the Dardanelles
into Alexander's country to plant the church of God--Alexander going to
Asia, Paul going to Europe. The former fired by an ambition to bring the
world to his feet, the latter by a holy zeal to bring all to the foot of Calvary.
The one glorying in the sword, the other glorying in the cross of Christ.
These two characters mark the direction of human tendencies--glorying
in self and glorying in the cross. This was no doubt a critical moment in
Paul's life. All Europe lay before him and Asia behind him. Should he
go forward or backward?  On no other journey within such a narrow space
of time do we find the Apostle confronted with so many prohibitions.     He
would go through Phrygia, but was forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach
the word in Asia. He essayed to go into Bithynia but the Spirit suffered
'im not. Acts 16:6-7. He understood it all after hearing the voice at
Troas. The hand leading him was divine, and he followed. If one will
only take time to pause and listen, he will hear the still small voice calling
him to the right direction, to the right work. From Macedonia he goes to
Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth and back to Antioch. On this jour-
ney, he wrote his letters to the Thessalonians.
   On his third and last journey, Paul revisits Asia Minor and goes to Ephesus
and spends there nearly three years, revisiting Macedonia and Greece;
leaving Phillippi by water, he touches Miletus, Coos, Rhodes, Patora, Tyre,
Ptolemais, Caesarea, thence by land to Jerusalem. On this tour he wrote
his epistles to the Corinthians and Romans. At Miletus, in sad words, he
bids farewell to his brethren from Ephesus. There is a divine bond that
connects the shepherd and his flock, and no man is worthy of such a sacred
trust who does not appreciate this fact.
                    "'Tis not a cause of small import,
                    The shepherd's care demands."
   Even when spite-work and disfavor are most prominent in ones' assign-
ment the pastor should in the fear of God discharge his duty as a good
shepherd. In the endeavor to reduce men, there has often been disclosed a




			

OHS/National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center Serial Collection

African Methodist Episcopal Church Review, Vol. 28, Num. 2

Volume:  28
Issue Number:  02
Date:  10/1911