For those following my posts, you may find it odd that I have jumped from Psalms to Acts. I do so because I have now started attending BSF here in Raleigh and find it a blessing for myself and a blessing for Zach with whom I go. I am encouraged that through a shared experience of the bible that Zach's interest in reading and knowing God's word has grown. We study together father and son.
BSF this year is studying Acts and this week the start of the study is from Acts 13. This chapter is of course filled with many words that speak to me but probably the words the speak to me most prominently are:
So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
I see encouragement here - encouragement in the sense that while Saul (Paul) and Barnabas are expelled from Antioch in Pisidia, "they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium". This language struck me as odd and I found the following. While the reference I found talks about this as an act of separation from the Jews who rejected the good news, I see this as a sign of encouragement because Saul and Barnabas, despite the fact that the Jews in Antioch in Pisidia rejected the good news, Saul and Barnabas were strong enough in their faith to move on...and even more so it said the "disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit"! They moved on flourished!
The question and challenge is clear: is my faith strong enough to be challenged (not just in my faith but in all areas of life) to the point where Saul and Barnabas were challenged and can I go on and flourish as they did?
This is certainly my prayer.
My Prayer: Lord, You are an awesome God and the good news about You - the gospel of Christ and all that it offers - is so powerful that it cannot be contained nor cannot be stopped. For You I am thankful. I am also thankful for how Your power has transformed my life in ways too many to mention. Yet at the same time, I am weak...I am weak in many areas of my walk, including prayer, evangelism and other ways. Lord, please forgive me for my weakness and imbalance in these areas. Help me submit to You to be developed in these areas and help me truly develop to be the disciple You desire me to be - despite whatever earthly discouragement I might encounter.
