It’s Really Happened!

Scripture:

Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. “It’s really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!”  Those who had been scattered by the persecution triggered by Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they were still only speaking and dealing with their fellow Jews. Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus. God was pleased with what they were doing and put his stamp of approval on it—quite a number of the Greeks believed and turned to the Master.  When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things. As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives. He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit’s ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.  Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. He found him and brought him back to Antioch. They were there a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching a lot of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christians.  Acts 11:18-26 (The Message)

Observation:

Peter was called on the carpet by some of his old associates.  And then he told them the story of all that had happened.  As Peter laid it all out for them, they quieted down and it finally became clear to them that God had done something pretty special…’it’s really happened!’  God has also opened them up to Life!  The persecution that had been triggered by Stephen’s death had scattered some of the believers to other places.  In Antioch some of them started talking with Greeks and many of them believed.  Then the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to check it out.

Application:

How much might we miss of what God wants to do because we can’t or won’t believe that things can be done a different way than we are used to them being done?  How can God use certain people that we are prone to ignore?  How can it all be done in a way we are not completely comfortable with?  Do we above all want it to, ‘really happen’?

Prayer:                                  

Father, please open my heart and my eyes to see what you really want to happen and not just what I think can and should happen.  You are God and I am not and I want to always remember that.   AMEN

Father, you are the one that shields me on all sides, ground my feet, and lift my head high. My only real help comes from you. Psalm 3:3-4,8