Acts 11
Devotional:
Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.) (Acts 11:25-26)
After Stephen’s stoning and the persecution that ensued, members of the church scattered from Jerusaelm to the outlying areas, most notably the Greek city of Antioch. Reports of the staggering number of new believers there led the leaders of the Jerusalem church to send Barnabas to Antioch to help the growing church. Barnabas recognized that he could use help and recalled how boldly Saul preached and “disputed” with the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem (9:28,29), which made him the perfect candidate to do the same in Antioch. How extraordinary is it that this Saul, who persecuted followers of Christ, would strengthen them so much with Barnabas that they would be identified as Christians? In our daily lives, wherever we go and whatever we do, can it be said that we are Christians?
Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.) (Acts 11:25-26)
After Stephen’s stoning and the persecution that ensued, members of the church scattered from Jerusaelm to the outlying areas, most notably the Greek city of Antioch. Reports of the staggering number of new believers there led the leaders of the Jerusalem church to send Barnabas to Antioch to help the growing church. Barnabas recognized that he could use help and recalled how boldly Saul preached and “disputed” with the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem (9:28,29), which made him the perfect candidate to do the same in Antioch. How extraordinary is it that this Saul, who persecuted followers of Christ, would strengthen them so much with Barnabas that they would be identified as Christians? In our daily lives, wherever we go and whatever we do, can it be said that we are Christians?
Pray it:
Father, help me to grow in my faith and use me to help others grow in their faith so that we may be a reflection of the one whose name we bear as Christians. Amen.
Father, help me to grow in my faith and use me to help others grow in their faith so that we may be a reflection of the one whose name we bear as Christians. Amen.
Share it:
Who is someone you can share a verse or thought from this passage with?
Who is someone you can share a verse or thought from this passage with?
Posted in Cover to Cover
Recent
Archive
2025
January
February
March
No Comments