Paul's travels among people who were living in the darkness of paganism.
Posted : 3 Jul, 2012 07:04 AM
Acts 14:8�20
8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked :
9 The same heard Paul speak : who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed ,
10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked .
11 And when the people saw what Paul had done , they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
12 And they called Barnabas , Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
13 Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out ,
15 And saying , Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein :
16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good , and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
18 And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.
19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead .
20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up , and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
Devotional:
This passage tells about Paul's travels among people who were living in the darkness of paganism. He came with the power of the gospel, power that made the lame walk and the blind see. Yet the people's reaction to Paul was as fickle as the weather�one day they thought he was a god, and the next day they nearly killed him.
Even in places where the gospel has not yet been preached, God gives signs of his existence. People can see and feel God's presence through the good things he gives them. Rain shows God's kindness. Crops testify to God's goodness. An abundant supply of food witnesses to God's generosity. The joy of God's gifts must cause people to thank the Giver.
But it's a long way from appreciating God's world and enjoying God's blessings to knowing the living God. If human beings were sinless, God's testimony in creation would be perfectly clear to everyone. Sin has so blinded people that they worship what God has made rather than God himself.
That is why we need the gospel. The gospel not only shows us the way to salvation but also helps us see God's kindness in the rain and his goodness in the crops. We need the gospel in order to know God as the source and goal of our joy.
When God has revealed himself to us in his Word, our eyes are wide open to his revelation in the world. In fact, it is then hard to understand why others don't see that God is everywhere.
