It’s Friday 9/11 and God still reigns. Sometimes we are placed in a position that allows us to be seen by others. Not necessarily because we want attention, but because someone thought it would beneficial to those who would see and hear what we had to say. In this chapter we learned that Paul and Barnabas were called, we also learned that they were invited to speak encouraging words to the people in the synagogue, and yesterday we read the people wanted them to come back and preach again. Join me as we continue our reading in Acts chapter 13.

Bible verse

“⁴⁴ The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For the Lord gave us this command when he said,

‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’^{[Isaiah 49:6]}”” – Acts 13:44-47 NLT

Key Points

• The people were hungry for the Good News. The message was so powerful that others sought an opportunity to hear and almost the entire city showed up.
• Paul didn’t allow the jealousy of the Jews detour him from sharing the Good News. Paul and Barnabas knew the scriptures – they knew the message would be given to the Jews first then to the Gentiles. The Jews reaction wasn’t a surprise.

Reflection

Sisters and brothers, there will be times when there will be people who do not want to hear the word of God and salvation through Jesus Christ. There will also be people who will be jealous of places and positions that God has placed you in. However, don’t let the enemy that is working within them distract you from the God who is working in you. Greater is He who is in you. 1 John 4:4 says, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”

Keep Pressing Forward in the Lord.

The Lord has great plans for you. Keep shining your light and be the example of Christ’s love in your home, in your relationships, on the job, on social media and throughout the world – the furthest corners of the earth.

Prayer

Father God we thank you for your willingness to change our hearts and align our will to Your will. Thank you for sending the message to the Jews and the Gentiles ensuring the message of salvation through Jesus Christ reached us and continues to reaches to the furthest ends of the earth. Lord God, continue Your great work within us. Make us bold and courageous for you. Lord, make us more aware of the tatics of the enemy so that we will move in your power and announce victory over our situations in the name of Jesus. Lord, let Your presence fall on us and help us to be better examples of You in our lives. Lord we pray for all the people who were impacted (directly and indirectly) by the events that occurred on 9/11. Lord, you know the pain, grief, and anxiety that they felt that day and continue to battle with. Lord, bring comfort to their hearts and minds. Strengthen them today and in the days ahead. Lord, as we remember this day help us all to see our greatest need is You. Lord, point us back to you. Make us truly a nation that is under God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and not small tiny gods. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

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