Closer Day By Day

Bible Passage:  Acts 13-14

Today we will read the beginning of the first missionary journey of Paul. He was selected together with Barnabas specially by the Holy Spirit to go out to do this work, and along with them was also John Mark.

3 things that I picked up from reading these chapters that I would like to share.

Paul cursed the opposer of the Word!

We often associate preaching and miracles to healing and positive works that will make people feel that Christianity is so helpful. However, at Cyprus, there was a pro-consul who sought the Word but he had a sorcerer with him called Bar-Jesus/Elymas who withstood them.

Paul cursed him for perverting the straight ways of the Lord so that he should become blind and indeed it became so, and the pro-counsul was astonished and believed because of this.

Returning to where they faced persecution and the threat of death!!

Paul and Barnabas went to preach in Antioch of Pisidia, where the Gentiles grew more enthusiastic than the Jews which caused the Jews to be jealous. They were later expelled from the region, and that was when Paul did the famous act of shaking off the dust from their feet against them.

They moved on to Iconium and converted many Gentiles and Jews. But later the minds of the multitude were poisoned and the city was divided, and there arose a plot to abuse them, they fled to Lystra.

The next place is also where I have the third point to make. Paul healed a lame man there, similar to Peter who healed the lame man in Chapter 3 at the Beautiful gate. They were worshipped as gods immdiately. However, their enemies from the earlier two cities - Antioch and Iconium, came (chased them?) and persuaded the people to stone them!

Here I wonder what did Banabas do, but it was recorded that Paul was stoned to the point of looking like dead! There was how bad it was… really. I do not think it is easy to fake death.

So they left for Derbe. They made many disciples there, and there was no record of persecution. Did they stay there since there is peace? No, they returned to the 3 places that they faced persecution! Not to face their enemies head on really, but to strengthen the believers, encouraging them to be ready to face tribulations for their faith. Another thing that they did was to appoint elders.

Worshipped One Day, Stoned the Next!!!

So back to the case where they were treated as gods one day, and stoned the other - what a huge contrast! This reminds me of Jesus who entered the city of Jerusalem just one week before his cruxifixion, where the multitudes came to welcome him as a king, spreading their clothes and branches they cut from the trees specially to lay on the road, crying “Hosanna to the Son of David!”, being so sure He was the Messiah. A week later, they lost all hope of Jesus as their Messiah and became the multitudes who shouted to have Him crucified?

What can you conclude from this? People are fickle. They can lift you up one day and leave you dead the next day. Of course they are a lot of trustworthy people out there for us to establish our relationships with and who will help us, like those disciples who helped Paul escape or went to pick up the looked-dead Paul. However, our faith and trust must ultimately be rested on God, who will always be there for us, if we are for Him.