Acts 18:1-11
English Standard Version (ESV)
18 After this Paul[a] left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And
he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with
his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.
And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade
he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And
he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and
Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from
Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the
Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he
shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am
innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left
there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.
His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler
of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And
many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And
the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on
speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one
will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And
he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Have you
ever been discouraged when you have tried to share the Gospel with someone who
flat out rejected it? It can be so
frustrating to know the truth and yet not be able to convey it to others. Having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is what
has gotten me through the trials of life that I have faced and am facing. To not have that faith and that hope in Him
would cause me to totally give up. I
would see no purpose in life whatsoever; yet, there are people who live their
life in this manner. They reject the
Good News and continue to live their life for today and not for tomorrow. Paul encountered these people and rather than
giving up and leaving he continued to minister because he was doing the will of
the Father. He simply shook his garments
off and moved on from them. By doing so
he was able to witness to others who did believe.
I myself
have a difficult time with moving on and I tend to be a little obsessed with
the past rather than looking towards the future. I have to wonder if Paul had a bit of this
anxiety too. I tend to be one that will
withdraw rather than confront but to me Paul was quite the opposite. He seemed to me to be one that could come
across as arrogant, strong-willed, and a bit pushy, not one that would ever
cave to the fear of what his words might produce. Yet, God assures him that He is with
him. He lets him know that he will be
safe which gives Paul the ability to go forth and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
What
about us? How does this apply to
us? Just as God promised to Paul, He
promises us, He is with us. He was with
Paul and He will be with us so long as we believe upon His name. If others shun us, let them do so because we
were faithful to Him. As you seek Him
may you realize He is with you. As you
seek to serve Him may you realize He is your strength and your protection. May you find in Him the assurance that life,
lived to its fullest, through the proclamation of the Word, is the what God
wants from all of us.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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