Daily Devotion, August 19, 2020

Devotion: Read Acts 14:8-20.

In Acts 14:8, we find Paul and Barnabas in Lystra (which is in the middle of present day Turkey). In Lystra, Paul and Barnabas are preaching mostly to Gentile people. And it’s in Lystra that God heals a crippled man through Paul. Then the crowds want to worship him and Barnabas, saying “The gods have come down to us in human form!” In the meantime, the priest of the temple of Zeus creates a sort of festival and parade to honor them!

But Paul and Barnabas declare that they are only human with a message to bring “the good news of the living God who made heaven and earth.” But the crowds still wanted to believe that Paul and Barnabas were gods.

Again in the meantime, this passage says, “some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul….. They thought he was dead…but after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. And the next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.” (Derbe was about 60 land miles southeast of Lystra).

The lessons we can learn from Paul are that he was faithful to the Lord’s calling to go and bring the message of good news of the Living God to the Gentiles, even though there were many cultural and religious challenges.

He and Barnabas were also honest and gave credit to God for healing the man who had never walked. They could have enjoyed a “good life” with status as “gods” and could have profited from the people’s perception that they had “healing powers.” But they gave credit to God for healing the man and then they suffered greatly for their honesty.

Paul also didn’t let his suffering keep him from continuing to proclaim the good news of God’s love for all people through Christ. With the disciples’ help, he got up and went back to Lystra and then began the 60 mile journey the next day to Derbe! Personal Worship Option: Are we faithful, are we honest and give credit where credit is due, are we willing to help one another, and are we willing to overcome adversities for continuing to proclaim God’s love to all people? God will help us each step of the way!