February 14, We Must
Today’s Journey Through Acts excerpt is:
We Must
In their newfound motivation to preach the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles, Acts fourteen opens by telling us that Paul and Barnabas were preaching in such a way that the message was accessible to both the Jews and the Greeks. This truth serves as an important reminder to us who are Christians. If the message that we're sharing is not within reach of the people we're talking to, is it really any benefit to them? Religious words and churchisms are no good if they create distance between the message and the hearer. The longer I've walked with the Lord, the more I've realized that the most important attribute in my relationships and in my prayer life is authenticity, not impressive words. Being open and honest carries so much more weight than being perceived as theologically or intellectually superior.
By now, you may see a pattern developing in Acts. The Apostles show up to a new place, share the Gospel, new believers are added, and then the Jewish religious leaders incite some sort of punishment upon the disciples. People can be fickle, and the Pharisees took advantage of that. In Lystra, one moment the people of the city are literally trying to worship Paul and Barnabas and in the next moment the Pharisees have turned the mob against them. The people of the Lystra turned against the disciples, stoned Paul and left him outside the city supposing he was dead. What happens in the next few moments must have been nothing less than miraculous. Verse twenty doesn't give much detail, but indicates that the disciples gathered around him and immediately after this, Paul gets up and goes back into the city!
That's determination. That's grit! Paul addresses the people shortly after and in verses twenty-one and twenty-two we find where this grit comes from:
“When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
We must enter the kingdom of God. We must. Sometimes we live our lives as though we will only do what is absolutely necessary to make it to heaven. I'm often asked "Can I (fill in the blank) and still be ok?" I wholeheartedly believe that question is framed to move away from the Lord. Maybe we should shift our perspective from "What do I have to do to go to heaven?" to ""What can I do while I'm on my way there?" Certainly Paul would have been justified by dusting himself off, and moving to a new town, but instead he returns and disciples. We must determine to do all we can to see the kingdom of God advance.
Reflect on the journey:
Do you view living for Jesus as an obligation or an opportunity? Could a shift in your thinking produce more joy in your life?
Through your prayer time today:
Read through Romans 12:1-2 and ask God to transform you by changing the way you view yourself as a living sacrifice.
