TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 6:1-15
My Father will honor the one who serves me. - John 12:26
TODAY IN THE WORD
Arnold Billie was a rural mail carrier in New Jersey who provided special service for the people on his sixty-three-mile-long route. Mr. Billie brought them anything they might need from the post office, whether stamps or money orders or pickup service. All his customers had to do was leave the flag up on their mailbox as a signal to Mr. Billie that they needed his help. One elderly woman on his route had trouble starting her lawn mower. So whenever she needed the mower she would leave it by the mailbox with the flag up, and Mr. Billie would start it for her.

Real servants will never lack for a job, for at least two reasons. First, there is always plenty of work to do. Second, servants are often hard to find. The early church found seven such men in Stephen and the six others chosen to administer the food given to the needy widows in Jerusalem.

These were men of kindness, but they were more than just nice guys. The apostles called for men “full of the Spirit and wisdom” (v. 3), and Stephen was “full of God’s grace and power” (v. . These qualifications were important because this was God’s work. The word “tables” (v. 3) can also refer to money-changing tables as in a bank. Since the first-century believers held all material things in common, these men were probably administering money as well as food (Acts 2:44).

The service of the seven was the forerunner of the later church office of deacon, although their task seems to have been a temporary assignment to meet a specific need. The division of labor apparently settled the dispute between Greek and Hebrew Christians concerning the care of their widows and allowed the apostles to give their attention to their primary work of teaching the Word.

In verse 7 Luke gives a progress report on the church growth, which he does at several places in the narrative of Acts (see 2:41, 47; 4:4; 5:14). As a careful historian with a story to tell, Luke notes key times of expansion and other important events and their effect on the church (see 9:31).

The focus in Acts 6-7 is on Stephen. Chapter 5 describes the tremendous increase in hostility against the apostles. The anger against Christians settled for one awful moment on Stephen. He did not fight back. But he did have a message to deliver.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The neglect of certain widows in the Jerusalem church reminds us how we overlook important opportunities.

We can be grateful for people like Stephen who are willing to serve others. You probably have people like that in your life. Why not offer a word of appreciation today? Look for an opportunity to say thanks to your spouse or other family member, or perhaps a roommate, for doing a routine household chore or other act of selfless service.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 7:1-29
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. - Genesis 50:20
TODAY IN THE WORD
Martin Luther appeared at the Diet of Worms in 1521 to answer charges of heresy because he challenged the Roman Catholic Church’s established teachings. Luther was not allowed to defend his biblical views, but instead was ordered to recant. He asked for a day to think about his decision, which he knew could cost him his life. Luther prayed for courage, then came back the next day and made his stand on the truth of Scripture, “I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand. God help me, Amen.”

This great tradition of courage in the face of dire threats began in the church’s earliest days with the apostles and their close associates--

people like Stephen. God chose Stephen for the difficult task of answering false charges and facing persecution, for the greater purpose of expanding His new work known as the church.

Stephen’s arrest was motivated by fear. The Jewish establishment felt its religious system and its power being threatened, and its members struck back to deal with this new “sect” which followed Jesus Christ. Stephen found himself standing before the same Jewish council that had condemned Jesus.

Today’s reading begins in a deceptively mild way. The high priest simply asked Stephen if the charges against him were true. When Stephen saw he was being allowed to speak, he used the occasion to deliver the longest recorded sermon in Acts. The portion we are studying today is the first half of a pointed message on Israel’s history and disobedience.

Stephen obviously knew the Old Testament, but his powerful preaching was probably also a fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that when His followers were arrested and brought to trial, the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say (Mark 13:11).

Stephen’s eloquent defense began with God’s call of Abraham and His promises to the man who was the father of Israel. As Stephen reviewed the lives of the patriarchs, the slavery of Israel in Egypt, and the rise of Moses, no one on the council had any objections. But Stephen had a point to make with this message, and they weren’t going to like his conclusion.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Stephen’s story reminds us that whatever the situation, the last word hasn’t been said until God has spoken.

That means it may be too early for us to give up on a problem that seems to hold no hope. Try this experiment. Write out your biggest frustration, then set the card aside for a while. Now ask God to show you a new way of seeing the problem or a possible solution, and what He wants you to learn from it. Once you’ve spent some time praying about the situation, go back and read what you wrote. You may find God’s purpose in your problem.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 7:30--8:3
Day after day...they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. - Acts 5:42
TODAY IN THE WORD
Richard Wurmbrand, author of Tortured for Christ, was a pastor and leader of the underground church in communist Romania during the years after World War II. Imprisoned for his faith, Wurmbrand met a young communist lieutenant who was thoroughly indoctrinated by Marxism and believed he was creating a better world by arresting and persecuting Christians. The young officer scoffed at Pastor Wurmbrand’s sincere expression of love for his enemies. But after many conversations about Christianity, Wurmbrand finally had the privilege of leading this officer to faith in Christ in the pastor’s prison cell.

That zealous young lieutenant reminds us of the zealous young Saul. Saul fervently believed that Christians presented a menace and a threat to the religion in which he had been trained so thoroughly. This rabbi desired to prove his dedication to the traditions of his Jewish faith by becoming the chief persecutor of Christians.

Before Saul appeared on the scene, Stephen delivered a powerful indictment to the elders of Israel. He reminded the Jewish council that the nation’s forefathers failed to obey Moses despite the miracle of the exodus from Egypt. Stephen then charted Israel’s rebellion and idolatry all the way from the golden calf to the worship of idols that led to the Babylonian exile. One of the worst examples was the worship of Molech, which required child sacrifice.

Verses 44-50 are important because Stephen showed that God’s work and His presence were not limited to the temple in Jerusalem. In other words, God’s Spirit was at work in the new beginning called the church, and these “stiff-necked” men were resisting it just as their ancestors resisted God (v. 51).

No one nodded off during Stephen’s sermon! The violent reaction of the elders and the execution of Stephen demonstrated that the hatred directed toward the church was of more than human origin.

God knew that hostility would come. The “Hound of heaven” was pursuing Saul, and Stephen’s death was part of the plan to compel Saul to face the truth.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Most of us can recall people whom God used to awaken us to our sin and our need of a Savior.

You can probably name several people like this in your own life. Why not send them a new year’s greeting and a word of appreciation, if that’s still possible? Whether it’s a phone call, a note, or a personal visit, your contact may be just the spark of joy or encouragement someone needs in these opening days of 2000. Is there someone you can contact even today?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 8:4-25
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. - Luke 16:10
TODAY IN THE WORD
Jim Morris has had the kind of “new beginning” most men his age only dream about. In May, the 35-year-old was a high school teacher and baseball coach in a small Texas town. Then Morris, who had once pitched in the minor leagues, went to a major league tryout at the insistence of his players. His fastball was so impressive the Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed Morris to a contract. The next thing he knew, he was pitching in the major leagues. “It’s weird,” Morris said later. “In May I was signing report cards. Now I’m signing autographs.”

Philip saw his life take the same kind of sudden turn Jim Morris experienced. One day Philip was helping care for needy widows in Jerusalem. The next thing he knew, his co-worker Stephen was dead and Philip was being driven out of town by “a great persecution” (Acts 8:1).

But there was divine purpose in the persecution and Stephen’s martyrdom. God was fulfilling His plan for the spread of the church (see Acts 1:, and He sovereignly chose Philip to play a key part in that expansion.

To their credit, the scattered believers realized God was sending them out to preach the gospel. As a Greek-speaking Jew, Philip may have been less reluctant to go to Samaria, a region the Jews considered to be off-limits because the people were of mixed ancestry and worshiped differently.

Philip’s preaching was accompanied by “miraculous signs” (v. 6), performed for the purpose of validating the gospel message. The incident with Simon the magician also served to underscore the truth. Simon’s act was the big show in town until Philip arrived and God’s power was made visible. It’s hard to tell if Simon made a genuine profession of faith, but Peter’s later warning suggests that Simon was not a genuine believer (vv. 21-23).

Philip’s ministry in Samaria bore so much fruit that Peter and John came from Jerusalem to further validate the work. The delay in the Samaritan believers receiving the Holy Spirit is in keeping with the transitional nature of Acts and the unique authority granted to the twelve apostles. It also helped prevent the work in Samaria and other places from becoming a “stand alone” operation and breaking the church’s unity.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We can’t duplicate Philip’s ministry assignment, but we can imitate his faithfulness.

We’ll finish Philip’s story tomorrow. Philip was a table-server in Jerusalem before he became an evangelist--and he was faithful wherever God called him. He is a good example of the principle in today’s verse. Has God called you to serve Him in your church, at home, or on the job? Wherever it is, make it your aim today to serve Him faithfully.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 8:26-40
Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. - Acts 8:35
TODAY IN THE WORD
The late Dr. Paul Freed, founder of the global gospel broadcasting ministry Trans World Radio, told of traveling in remote bush country in India. Freed’s party came to a roadside stand and decided to try an experiment. They asked the proprietor if he had ever heard of Trans World Radio. He smiled, reached under the counter, and held up his transistor radio. He was a regular listener to TWR’s programs, and even knew who Dr. Freed was.

The wonder of the gospel is that it can reach anyone on any dusty road, anywhere in the world. The same Holy Spirit who directs the message of Christ to the hearts of listeners today sent Philip to the desert area south of Jerusalem to meet an African court official.

This man worshiped Israel’s God, though he may not have been a full-fledged convert to Judaism. But he was thirsty for the water of life, and the Spirit used Philip to quench that thirst.

Philip’s ability to preach Christ from Isaiah 53 is remarkable, especially since he had no New Testament passages to refer to as proof of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. But Philip no doubt had witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, and could speak with personal passion.

This official opened his heart to Christ and was saved. As evidence of his conversion, he requested baptism. Philip baptized him, and then was immediately “snatched away” by the Holy Spirit for service elsewhere. The official went home, and the gospel spread to Africa.

Philip next appeared at Azotus, the same city as the old Philistine capital called Ashdod in the Old Testament. This area was about twenty miles north of Gaza, and Philip realized that God wanted him to carry the gospel to other cities also. It would be hard to miss the point when God suddenly snatched you from one place and set you down somewhere else.

Philip’s story ends on a great note, with him preaching the gospel everywhere he went. He may have finally settled in Caesarea, but he didn’t give up the work. Years later, he was known in Caesarea as “Philip the evangelist” (Acts 21:.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
What are you known for in your work, family, church, etc.?

A convicting question, but a good one to spend time answering. Think about how your fellow workers, friends, and family members might characterize you if they were asked to describe your commitments and character. If you’re a parent and/or grandparent, this is an especially good question to ask concerning your children and grandchildren. Pray that God will help you keep first things first.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 9:1-22
Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. - Ephesians 2:4
TODAY IN THE WORD
Author C. S. Lewis described himself as a reluctant convert to the Christian faith. A brilliant, respected professor and literary critic first at Oxford and then at Cambridge, Lewis could write authoritatively about an entire century of British literature. But God brought Lewis to Himself after he experienced years of doubt and skepticism.

Saul of Tarsus was like C. S. Lewis in terms of his brilliance and training. But Saul wasn’t a religious skeptic. He was a Pharisee so zealous about his Jewish faith that he pursued followers of the new faith called Christianity with murder in his heart. The last thing Saul expected, or wanted, was a radical new beginning as a committed disciple of Jesus Christ.

Saul certainly wasn’t interested in finding out whether the gospel was true the day he guarded the coats of the men who stoned Stephen. Nothing had changed by the time he set out from Jerusalem to Damascus with warrants to arrest any Christians he found there. But God put this proud Pharisee face-down in the dust and saved him.

Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ illustrates the cost of making a new beginning with God. We’re not talking about some kind of experience in which a person only gets warm religious feelings.

That’s how the world often describes a religious experience. But we’re not ready for a new beginning with the God of Scripture until our sinful lives are sprawled helplessly in the dust before Him. God broke Saul’s proud and sinful spirit there in the dirt, and when Saul got up the church had its greatest missionary, evangelist, theologian, and writer of Scripture. Saul’s conversion became a driving force behind the gospel’s spread to the edges of the known world.

Saul’s zeal is also worth noting. He didn’t do anything halfheartedly, whether as a persecutor or an apostle of the church. His fierce reputation inspired fear in Ananias, and his powerful preaching of the gospel left the Jews in Damascus speechless.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Many of us look at a person like Paul and say, “I’m afraid I’m not like that.”

We don’t have to be--but Paul gave us his formula for service that makes a lasting impact: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col. 3:23). What’s the next job on your “to do” list for today or tomorrow? Why not promise the Lord you’ll give it this kind of dedication, for His sake?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 9:23-43
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. - 1 Timothy 1:15
TODAY IN THE WORD
When the U.S. government decided to build the first transcontinental railroad, two railroad companies were commissioned to do the work. The Central Pacific began laying track east from Sacramento, California, while the Union Pacific began working west from near Omaha, Nebraska. The two lines met at Promontory, Utah, in May 1869, and drove the last spike to connect the continent.

The church began with two lines moving toward each other, each having a separate beginning point but destined to meet and be joined. These lines were the Jews and Gentiles, two great bodies of people God was bringing together to make one new unified body (Eph. 2:15). And the two “foremen” He was using were Peter and Paul (Gal. 2:7).

We can see God preparing the church for this unification in the last portion of Acts 9. Paul, who was still called Saul at this point (note Acts 13:9), stirred up so much hatred that he had to leave Damascus secretly. He had come as the persecutor of Christians, and now he was the target of murderous persecution.

Paul came to Jerusalem, but his reputation preceded him. Barnabas befriended Paul and helped him gain acceptance among the believers, but Paul couldn’t get away from his Jewish enemies. He had to be sent to Caesarea, and from there he went to his hometown of Tarsus.

Luke then closes this portion of the church’s history with another progress report (v. 31), which indicates just how strong Jewish opposition to Paul had been. With Paul away, the church “enjoyed a time of peace.”

Although Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles, it was Peter who first brought the gospel to non-Jews. Acts 9 records Peter’s healing of Aeneas and his raising of Dorcas from the dead--wonderful miracles that attested to God’s power on Peter. These areas, Lydda and Joppa, were partially Gentile in makeup. God was preparing Peter for his historic ministry to the household of the Roman commander Cornelius, a ministry to the Gentiles.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Peter was an apostle who had known Jesus intimately. Paul was a leading Pharisee and one of the rising stars of Judaism. These men might have been tempted to live in the past.

We can be tempted to live in the past too. Maybe you can look back to a time when you were closer to the Lord, more active in your witness, and really hungry for spiritual things.

This devotional is committed to helping you keep your love for Christ strong. Are you spending time each day in the Word and in prayer?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 10:1-23
We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved. - Acts 15:11
TODAY IN THE WORD
When God decides to bring two people together for His kingdom, their differences don’t really matter. That was the case with Dwight L. Moody and his successor at Moody Bible Institute, Reuben A. Torrey. Moody was seventeen years older than Torrey. Torrey was a brilliant intellectual, a graduate of Yale University who knew Greek and Hebrew, and was also fluent enough in German to study theology at two of Germany’s top universities. Moody was a grade-school dropout who spelled words the way they sounded.

But Moody had a tremendous spiritual influence on Torrey, and persuaded Torrey to come to his school in Chicago.

Moody and Torrey couldn’t have been more different in background and training. The same could be said for Peter the Jew and Cornelius the Gentile, who was a member of the occupying Roman army on top of that. Given the ordinary course of events in first-century Palestine, these two might have never met.

But according to God’s magnificent plan, Cornelius was saved, and his story is one of the key turning points in the beginning of the church. The doors of the church were about to swing open wide for Gentile converts--and God wanted Peter to be the first Jewish believer to welcome them.

God had already prepared Cornelius for the gospel when Peter had his famous vision the next day. That’s what it took to get Peter’s attention, since God knew that Peter would not likely volunteer for the job of opening the kingdom to the Gentiles. Peter was an observant Jew, as indicated in his three refusals to eat animals that the Law of Moses declared unclean.

This was at least the third time Peter had said no to God’s will. He rebuked Jesus for prophesying His rejection and death in Jerusalem (Matt. 16:22). And at the Last Supper, Peter declared to the Lord, “You shall never wash my feet” (Jn. 13:.

Peter was reprimanded on each occasion, and here on the roof of Simon’s house in Joppa, Peter was left to wonder what the vision meant. The men sent from Cornelius arrived at that moment, and to his credit Peter obeyed the Holy Spirit. The church would soon be full of Gentile converts, and as leader of the church, Peter needed to see God’s hand behind this growth.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Too many of us have said, “Surely not, Lord!” at one time or another in our lives.

But that statement is not only a contradiction in terms. Spiritually, it is impossible for us to say this to God when we know what He wants us to do. As someone has pointed out, we either need to cross out the “no” or the “Lord” any time we are not willing to obey God. This weekend would be good time to search your heart before Him and make sure your “obedience quotient” is what it should be.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 10:24-48
God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. - Acts 10:34-35
TODAY IN THE WORD
Greeting cards tend to present a sugar-sweetened picture of reality. Perhaps you’ve seen the series of cards and pictures with little boys and little girls dressed up in grown-up outfits. The boy’s giving the girl a rose, or the girl is kissing the boy on the cheek. Maybe a “Just Married” sign is on the back of their little red wagon.

In reality, these pictures just don’t ring true. For the most part, little boys and little girls can’t stand being together. A little girl wouldn’t want to kiss a boy any more than she’d want to kiss a frog, and boys would rather hand out snakes and lizards instead of roses. They have no idea that as the years go by, that greeting-card picture will resemble reality. But as boys and girls mature, their hearts open up to ideas like love, togetherness, and acceptance.

At the foundation of the church, picturing Jews in fellowship with Gentiles seemed unrealistic too. The Jews and the Gentiles had both grown accustomed to living completely apart with their own customs and lifestyles. The idea of a new body made up of both groups would take some getting used to.

Philip’s ministry to the Ethiopian official in Acts 8 was one hint of what was ahead. God used Peter to lead the way in taking the gospel to the Gentiles. God had to work in the heart of this ex-fisherman to make him “fish for men” in Gentile waters. Peter scratched his head over the vision he had on Simon’s roof in Joppa, but as he arrived in Caesarea and preached the gospel to Cornelius and his household, the mystery was revealed.

Peter’s statement in verses 28 and 34-35 summed up the theology behind this new beginning called the church. Later, Paul would fill in the details about this new entity that united Jews and Gentiles in one body (Eph. 2:11-18). The old rules had been superseded.

Even as Peter spoke, the Holy Spirit was given to the hearers. Peter’s Jewish companions were literally “beside themselves” with astonishment (v. 45) at this clear evidence of Gentiles being equal with Jews in Christ.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Paul tells us to keep the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). The church’s unity is a biblical reality, but keeping it takes commitment.

Here are three steps you can take to help promote unity in the body of Christ: 1. If you have a problem or disagreement with another Christian, discuss it with that person first. 2. If you disagree with a decision your church leadership has made, take it to the Lord first and then to the appropriate leader. 3. If someone comes to you with gossip, challenge the speaker to go with you to the person being talked about to get the truth.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 11:1-18
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all. - Romans 10:12
TODAY IN THE WORD
Newspapers last summer carried intriguing news about an elementary school graduation in the town of Lungtung, Taiwan. The eleven sixth-graders in this tiny fishing community took scuba diving lessons for three months in preparation for an underwater graduation ceremony. To receive their diplomas, students dove into twenty-six feet of water where the principal waited under a submerged banner. Each student was given a water-tight diploma and a thumbs-up sign from the principal.

This unusual ceremony was designed to stimulate students’ interest in the ocean, in the hope they will stay in Lungtung and become involved in the town’s traditional fishing business.

People will go to great lengths to preserve tradition. Sometimes these efforts are harmless or even amusing, as in this case. But when tradition begins to conflict with the work of God, it can become a serious problem.

The Jews who turned to faith in Jesus Christ at Pentecost and in the following months were, for the most part, staunch traditionalists when it came to religion. The Lord had commanded the apostles to take the gospel into all the world, but even Peter had to have a special vision from heaven to understand that God was extending salvation to the Gentiles.

Peter responded in obedience to God’s call, and Cornelius and his household were saved in Caesarea. When this surprising news reached Jerusalem, Peter was confronted by a group of Jewish believers. They criticized him for violating the Law of Moses by going into a Gentile’s house.

But when they heard the account of God’s leading, they “quieted down” and dropped their objections--although the issue of Jewish/Gentile relationships in the body of Christ was not yet fully settled.

The question of Gentiles receiving God’s grace in Christ was no longer in doubt. Luke underscores this reality by turning his attention to describing the spread of the gospel in Gentile territory, an exciting story we will study tomorrow.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Do you ever suffer from a “hardening of the categories”?

This is a common ailment in the church, otherwise known as traditionalism. It leads to such statements as, “We don’t do things that way” or “We don’t have anything in common with those people.” When God’s people start thinking and talking like this, it will limit the work God wants to do through us.

So how are your categories today? If God wanted to do a surprising work through you, would He have a hard time getting your cooperation? Ask God to keep you open to His leading.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 11:19-30
Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. - Mark 16:15
TODAY IN THE WORD
We have encountered some very important people so far in our study of God’s new beginning called the church. It’s a great list of heroes of the Christian faith! The apostles of Christ, particularly Peter and John; Stephen, the first martyr for the faith; Barnabas, the encourager and evangelist who was part of the church’s first missionary effort; and of course, Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles.

But there were many other believers who served faithfully in those early days of the church. One group of men became the first to actively evangelize Gentiles, which determined the course of church history. Yet we don’t know any of their names, or even how many there were. Luke simply identified them as “men from Cyprus and Cyrene” (v. 20). Cyprus is a Mediterranean island, and Cyrene was a city in North Africa.

These disciples took the gospel to the Gentile city of Antioch in Syria, three hundred miles north of Jerusalem. Antioch was a major metropolis, the third largest city in the Roman empire after Rome and Alexandria. Antioch had a large Jewish community, which was being evangelized by other unnamed Christians (v. 19).

The response among Gentiles was so great that the news reached Jerusalem. The church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to check out the report, just as Peter and John had come to Samaria to witness Philip’s work (Acts 8:14-15).

On his arrival in Antioch, Barnabas rejoiced in the great work God was doing there. For a whole year he worked in Antioch together with Paul whom he brought from Tarsus. Antioch became the base for the church’s missionary activity, and it was there that the term “Christians” was used for the first time to identify believers (Acts 11:26).

The Antioch church sent money to Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas to help believers at the time of famine in Judea. This was a tremendous testimony made possible because of spiritual unity and brotherly love among Christians.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Someone has said it’s amazing what can be accomplished for the Lord if no one cares who gets the credit.

There’s nothing wrong with being recognized for our work. Sometimes, though, you may come across things to do that will not bring you glamour or recognition. Your work may go unnoticed. Would you be available for God to use you in this way? It’s worth thinking about today. God can always use a willing person.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 13:1-25
[God] is patient...not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9
TODAY IN THE WORD
The Olympic Games in 1896 were not very spectacular by modern standards. The Games had been suspended in 384 A.D. by the Roman emperor Theodosius, making the revived Games in Athens, Greece, the first in more than 1귔 years. The competition drew 200 athletes from 14 countries, a contrast to the thousands of athletes who compete in the Olympics today. An American won a medal in the triple jump, the first medal awarded in the 1896 Games.

There’s a parallel between the beginning of the modern Olympics and the beginning of the church’s missionary outreach. Compared to the size of the worldwide missionary movement today, the early church’s missionary effort was small--just a few men traveling by ship and on foot in one corner of the world. But what results!

In Acts 13 we begin to trace the famous missionary trips the apostle Paul made with various co-workers. In fact, we’ll spend the rest of the month following these first missionaries, and close our study with the end of Paul’s third journey.

This is another pivotal event in the church’s history book. Beginning here, the spotlight shifts from the original twelve apostles to Paul and his companions. Many of the events in Acts happened during one of Paul’s amazing missionary trips.

When he and Barnabas were set apart and sent out on a mission, they started on the island of Cyprus, where they dealt with Elymas the sorcerer. From there, the trio (including John Mark) sailed to Perga, from where John Mark returned home. (We’ll meet him again in Acts 15.)

Then it was on to Pisidian Antioch in Asia Minor (different from the larger Antioch in Syria, which Paul and Barnabas had just left). Pisidia was known as dangerous territory, a hangout for bandits. Some Bible teachers believe this was the area Paul had in mind later when he said that he faced danger from bandits (2 Cor. 11:26).

In this city Paul found an attentive audience in the Jewish synagogue, and his message produced quite a reaction. We’ll look at the rest of his sermon tomorrow.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
By stepping out and courageously preaching the gospel, Paul became a target for opposition and criticism.

Spiritual leaders have always been targets for criticism and hostility, but it’s going to take more courage than ever to stand for the truth of God’s Word in the twenty-first century. Your pastor would probably appreciate a message of encouragement from you this week. You could write a note today to give him this Sunday.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 13:26-52
I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David. - Acts 13:34
TODAY IN THE WORD
Risk-takers are, by definition, a daring group of people. The risk-taker may be the person who tackles the assignment no one else wants, or who is willing to work with people everybody else is afraid to associate with. You may have come across these four characteristics of risk-takers in God’s kingdom: they are vulnerable, putting themselves in a place where they can be hurt; available, since it’s hard to help people from a distance; obedient, doing what God has called them to do even when it doesn’t seem to make sense; and broken, since God doesn’t use prideful people.

This definition fits the apostle Paul completely. Paul was certainly available and obedient; his pride was broken on the road to Damascus. Also, he was willing to put himself in places where he could be wounded, both emotionally and physically.

Paul’s risk-taking wasn’t just some personal adventure. He was doing the will of God, going where he was sent by the Holy Spirit. The pioneers of any movement usually pick up bruises and scars while blazing a trail, and that was the case with Paul and his fellow missionaries who first carried the gospel into the Gentile world.

Yesterday we left the apostle in the middle of a stirring message in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch. Paul’s sermon reminds us of Stephen’s message in Acts 7, which also included a review of Israel’s history. Paul mentioned a number of key Old Testament events, from slavery in Egypt to the kingship of David. Mentioning David, Israel’s greatest king, a type of Christ, gave Paul a good transition into the heart of his message. God had fulfilled His promises made through David by raising Christ from the dead and exalting Him to the throne in heaven.

The sermon closed with two main themes in Acts: the need for forgiveness of sins and a warning that rejecting Christ means facing judgment. The people responded, but the Jewish leaders “talked abusively” (literally, “blasphemed”) against the gospel. So Paul and Barnabas made the historic announcement, “We now turn to the Gentiles” (v. 46). The Jewish leaders then used their clout to stir up persecution and drive the missionaries out of the city.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Do you have the qualities of a risk-taker?

It’s obvious from the list of characteristics above that God can do powerful things with people who are willing to leave their comfort zone. For most of us, taking a risk may simply mean overcoming our fear of rejection or embarrassment and speaking to that neighbor or co-worker about Christ. If you’re willing to take a risk for the Lord, tell Him that--and then watch for your opportunity.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 14:1-28
Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. - 2 Corinthians 4:17
TODAY IN THE WORD
Renowned 19th-century archaeologist Sir William Ramsay was a skeptic about the Bible. But on a trip to Asia Minor, Ramsay made an amazing discovery about Acts 14:1-6, where Luke indicates that Iconium and Lycaonia were in separate districts. Ramsay believed Luke was wrong--but his explorations proved otherwise. The archaeological evidence showed that although the two areas were in the same district one hundred years before Luke, they were in separate districts in Luke’s time. The accuracy of the author of Acts stunned Ramsay, who eventually became a believer in Christ.

Ramsay’s experience is a testimony to the truthfulness of God’s Word. Luke’s accuracy as a historian is vital to the account of the church’s beginnings. Every word in Acts is important, recorded for a reason.

Today’s text is filled with such details, including several accounts of God’s miraculous power displayed through the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. Notice again that the miracles performed by apostles or their associates “confirmed the message” (v. 3) in an area where the name of Jesus had not been heard.

The reaction to the missionaries’ preaching in Iconium is typical of two responses to the word of Christ: faith or religious opposition. The city was divided over these newcomers and their message (v. 4). There were both believers and enemies, among them those plotting to kill the messengers.

Paul’s miraculous healing of the crippled man at Lystra, and the people’s frenzied reaction, give us an idea of the misguided beliefs held by the Gentiles to whom Paul was sent. The only thing more amazing than the people’s desire to worship Paul and Barnabas was their willingness to stone Paul a short time later. Did Paul die from this stoning? We can’t be sure, but his full recovery was still miraculous. He was able to continue on his first missionary journey, and after a fruitful time in Derbe he and Barnabas retraced their steps.

They appointed elders in the new churches they had established, and returned to Antioch to tell the church there of God’s blessing on their work among the Gentiles.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The attack on Paul at Lystra reminds us that following Christ is not a game, but a commitment that demands all we have.

We need to remind ourselves of this fact in the world of broken commitments and unfulfilled promises. But let’s also remember that God will give us the strength to keep our commitments even when it’s not easy. And according to today’s verse, any “momentary troubles” we suffer for Christ will bring an eternal reward far out of proportion to the trial.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 15:36--16:18
I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. - John 15:16
TODAY IN THE WORD
After the communists, with Mao Zedong at the head, gained control of China in 1949, the Chinese church went underground to escape severe persecution. For years, missionaries who were forced to leave China wondered about the status of the church they left behind. The church in China seemed to disappear. But decades later, a thriving church has emerged as the fruit of many years of sacrificial missionary work in that country.

Paul also had the kind of ministry that produced lasting fruit. His second missionary trip proved that as he revisited the places where he had preached the gospel and established churches on his first trip (vv. 36-37). Paul expected to find healthy disciples and thriving churches in those cities, and he was right.

The council held in Jerusalem reached very important decisions. It resolved some of the issues concerning Jewish-Gentile relations in the early church, but for many believers this area continued to be a challenge (see Gal. 2). You can read more about the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15:1-35.

The second missionary journey began with Silas replacing Barnabas as Paul’s companion. Barnabas took the dropout John Mark (Acts 13:13) and made a “helpful” servant out of him (2 Tim. 4:11), and Paul worked successfully with Silas, so the dispute worked out for the good of the gospel.

Paul added Timothy to his traveling team (Acts 16:1-4) in Lystra, where Paul had previously been stoned. This was followed by the famous “Macedonian call” (v. 9) which led him to Philippi, a Roman city of Macedonia (part of modern-day Greece). There we meet Lydia, Paul’s first convert in Europe (v. 14).

Then in Acts 16:10, Luke used the pronoun “we” in reference to the missionary effort for the first time, indicating he joined the work at Troas. Now the missionary team included Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke.

In Philippi the missionaries met opposition once again--this time stirred up by the owners of a demon-possessed, fortune-telling slave girl who lost their income when Paul healed her. The situation in Philippi was about to explode.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The only way to produce “fruit that will last” is to start with planting and nurturing seeds.

With that in mind, can you point to another believer you are discipling in the faith? We’re not talking about a formal ministry as much as a relationship in which you are helping another Christian grow in the knowledge of God and His Word. You don’t need a theology degree to pass on what you are learning in your Christian life. Pray for your disciple today, or ask God to give you one.