Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

–Parallel verses:
Acts‬ ‭18:1-4‬
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

I have found in life there are few people who will stick with you through thick and thin. I have been blessed with a handful of these people, who have enriched me in Christ in many ways. When I think about Priscilla and Aquila, they were tentmakers. Paul was a tentmaker. They served in the same occupation. And this bond led them to a stronger bond in Christ. They received him into their home and as Paul preached the gospel in Corinth, they stood by him, risking their lives for him. They were not only tentmakers, but they became faithful servants of the gospel alongside of Paul. We find them mentioned again later in Acts, as being left by Paul to serve in Ephesus. Then in I Corinthians, he sends their greetings from the churches in Asia. And in II Timothy, we find Paul greets them as they are serving alongside Timothy, his son in the faith, in Ephesus.

The point here is they were a spiritual family to Paul. He trusted them with a closeness like few others.

I have a friend named Todd. He and I have known each other for over 20 years. We both work in the financial services industry in sales and we have a common connection there. We also, over they years, have worked on a lot of ministry projects and in a lot of organizations together: Kiwanis, Boys and Girls Clubs, the Police dinners, devotionals, etc. He introduced me to the Kiwanis group. He was one of the two people who encouraged me to write these very devotionals, and as I started kept encouraging me, though they were probably not as well thought out. When one of us has changed jobs, the other has prayed and supported. When I started Back the Blue Idaho, he was one of my first calls. He encourages me to seek after God and to serve wholeheartedly. We joke sometimes that we get to tag-team on others in the business community with God’s love, and it is a fun way to serve.

Friends like this, who set aside their personal agendas to join in God’s work with you, are unbelievably important. Todd has made a name for himself in our community as an encourager of many, and I see that in Priscilla and Aquila too. They served alongside the young Timothy and, no doubt, blessed him.

The interesting thing is, I have blessed Todd too, almost by accident, not knowing it. People who are faithful from the beginning to the end are invaluable. When we serve on the spiritual front lines, God wants us to make these connections and to bless each other and be faithful to the call. He wants us to drop what matters to us and make what matters to his kingdom a priority and to STICK BY HIS SERVANTS IN THE BATTLE.

So, as Paul looks to honor Priscilla and Aquila, I, in turn, honor Todd (and there are many more I could and should honor too).

Lord, thank you for my friend Todd, who has stood by me in the ups and downs of service here in Idaho, through thick and thin, for over 20 years. I am blessed by him. Bless him greatly too!