Verse of the Day 6/24

Through the Bible - Job 3-6, Acts 7:35-8:3

 

Good morning,
Yesterday in Ezekiel we saw that God can take a heart of stone and make it pliable, bring it to life.

 

For today's verse we'll skip ahead in Acts to see an example of such a heart.  If you've been following the New Testament readings in Acts you've seen Saul standing by and watching the stoning of Stephen.  In the coming days you'll see how his heart was changed, how he served and ministered with others despite hardships and being persecuted.

Acts 14:21-22 (Amplified Bible)When they had preached the good news (Gospel) to that town and made disciples of many of the people, they went back to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, 

 ²²Establishing and strengthening the souls and the hearts of the disciples, urging and warning and encouraging them to stand firm in the faith, and [telling them] that it is through many hardships and tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

We may not all be preachers and evangelists, or are we?  It may not be our profession, but we are putting out a message by the way we live our lives.  Read verse 22 in the Amplified version above.  Look at and consider the action words used "establishing, strengthening, urging, warning, and encouraging".  Are we proclaiming the gospel to others in this way?

 

Take notice also of the last statement.  It doesn't sound anything like the name it and claim it prospertiy gospel that is popular today.  It's popularity may be because it avoids hardships and tribulations along with the responsibilities outlined above.

 

John MacArthur writes that the kingdom of God as referred to at the end of verse 22 "refers to the sphere of salvation, the gracious domain of divine rule over believers hearts."  Paul, allowed God to rule in his heart and along with others throughout the Bible and outlined in Hebrews 11 would look at those hardships in life and tell us that it was "worth it all".

 

Blessings,
Mike

mikevw@bellsouth.net
mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch of Syria

 ²¹ After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, ²² where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. ²³ Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. ²⁴ Then they traveled back through Pisidia to Pamphylia. ²⁵ They preached the word in Perga, then went down to Attalia.

 ²⁶ Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed. ²⁷ Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too. ²⁸ And they stayed there with the believers for a long time.  NLT