Real Hope: Acts, a Study of Acts 12-17Sample

God’s Word Can Stand On It’s Own

I think the thing that strikes me most about Paul is his unending energy in speaking about the good news of Jesus. Here in Acts 14, we see Paul and Barnabas doing that time and again in quite a number of cities. Some reactions were positive with lots of people believing and others negative or even hostile. In Lystra, they were worshipped as gods! They stood firm in the Gospel message and spoke boldly about the message of grace, and the Word was preached again with signs and wonders.

Through it all, Paul trusts completely in God to look after them and provide the words needed – and lives are changed. We also are called to speak about the good news of Jesus. For believers, God’s Word provides strengthening and encouragement. For those who don’t know Jesus, it challenges and forces them to consider bigger, life-changing truths about God and their lives.

God’s message is powerful. We are His messengers and have a responsibility to speak about it. We are not bigger than God’s message. We may not feel as bold or as well educated as Paul, and that’s okay. We need to be ourselves and speak about the truth of Jesus in our lives and tell our story of what Jesus means to us. The Holy Spirit will prod people into responding. God is at work, and we are part of that.

Dear Lord, give us opportunities to speak to others about you. May the Holy Spirit go ahead of us and prepare the ground for the words we say. Amen.

Written by DAVID BARKER