Saturday Reading: Acts 13:44-47
Key Verse: Acts 13:47
47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, "I have set You to be a light of the nations, for salvation to the end of the earth."
Devotion:
Paul and Barnabas had quite an eventful journey not just because they went to many places but because of the different attitudes people had to them. The Jews as a whole opposed the doctrine that the apostles preached; they did not believe that Jesus was their Messiah and they certainly did not want preaches walking around preaching that! On this occasion they had quite a huge crowd turn out to hear them speak because word had got round the first week they preached and many more wanted to come and hear the truth the following week. This in itself suggests that they had become disillusioned in some way with the teaching of the Jews.
You can convince people of one thing and make them follow that suggestion right up until the point that they hear the truth; from that point on they will no longer believe the lies because they have seen the truth. Many people may well have been convinced that God was real through the teachings of the Jews, but the Jews themselves were now withholding the truth from the people because it meant that they would no longer have the power and authority that they had enjoyed for so long. It is not only the Jews that are at fault here because we can see this happen with many churches over the ages. Man gets to a point where he thinks that he is more important than God...
We are nothing compared to the truth. That truth is that Jesus Christ came to earth to live, preach the truth and then ultimately die for our sins. That truth is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that our Salvation is through Him alone. That truth is exactly what He told us and exactly what Paul and Barnabas taught. That same truth is what we need to tell others of too because we are now acting as lights to that truth just as they did then.
Points to Ponder:
How often do you tell the truth?
How often do you act like the truth?
