July 30, 2014
The Church at Antioch
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 11, 19 – 26:
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but Jews. There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however, who came to Antioch and began to speech to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. And a large number of people was added to the Lord. Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year the met with the church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
A man whom I know had lost the use of both arms. He could not lift his arms at all. He came to me to ask for a healing. I prayed with him and asked the Lord to heal his arms. Jesus healed his arms completely and at the end he could life the front of his car without trouble. He could go back to work as he did in the past and he never had trouble with his arms. I thank the Lord for healing him.
Below you will find the message of Our Lord and Savior given to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words,
“I bless you My brother Melvin and all My brothers and sisters who believe in Me and have decided to follow Me. See the people of Antioch, they came to believe in Me and were men and women of prayer. The Church of Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch to teach the people to become members of My Church. Barnabas saw that many, many people believe in Me and so Barnabas went and found Saul who is Paul and brought him to Antioch. There the Christians accept him and were baptized and became members of My Church. They did great work for the spreading of the Good News.
There are in the world today many great preachers that are working to bring many people who are far from Me to become members of My Church. It is especially the case in Africa today. Pray that all the people may come to believe in Me and become members of My Church. I bless you all.”
Father Melvin
P.S. We had a very warm day but what was great is that there was a wind the whole day so the heat was not so great. I thank the Lord for helping us.