Acts 14
In Acts 14, the original P.B. and J. are stirring things up again. Paul, Barnabas, and Jesus. They are in the town of Iconium. Iconium sounds like something you take for an upset stomach. But it was a town, and the Holy Spirit, working through Paul and Barnabas, gave them power to work miracles. We find that many Jews and Greeks become believers. Then a mob runs them out of town, and they wind up in Lystra. Lystra, sounds like a new mouthwash. A crippled fella is healed, and the people think that Paul and Barnabas are God’s. But P. and B. set the crowd straight, then another mob shows up, they stone Paul and leave him for dead. But the believers gathered around him, and the next day they tore out for another town, Derbe. Derbe sounds like a 5th-grader roast. Yo lil bro, stop being a Derbe!
After making many disciples in Derbe, they headed back to Antioch.
‘22where 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. ‘
I’m so thankful I haven’t been run out of town or beaten for my faith. But I believe there is a cost of discipleship, and we will suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. All Christians are called to spiritual training. Committing to daily reflection, Bible study, meditating on God’s word, praying, and getting involved in church are some of the best ways I know to train spiritually.
‘8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” ‘
This week, I want to encourage you to set 10 minutes a day to studying scripture. You might try the S.0.A.P. method. Our hardships might be both external and internal, but Jesus will be with us through them all!