Check out all the previous Acts readings here.
Acts Reading Plan | Week 11 | Day 2
Prayer
Allow some silence for your soul to catch up with your body.
In John 6:68 it says, “Simon Peter answered [Jesus], “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”. As you come to spend time with Jesus, thank Him that you can come to Him, the one who has the truth – there is no one else like Him!
Bible Reading: Acts 14:8-20
Read these verses three times slowly.
In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God,who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Pauland dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
Reflection & Questions
In yesterday’s readings we saw one way people react wrongly to the gospel (they refused to believe and tried to poison others, too). Today, we see another wrong reaction. The people of Lystra put Paul and Barnabas on a pedestal and worshiped them, giving them the name of gods! Paul and Barnbas are horrified at the reaction of the people. They say, “We too are only human, like you.”
As bizarre as this might sound, today people are no different. Many will go beyond honoring their pastors, speakers, and worship leaders, to putting them on a pedestal – thinking that they are somehow cut from something more special than anyone else.
What’s the right reaction? It’s turning from worshiping men or idols or anything else. Paul makes it clear: “Turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sean and everything in them.” The truth is: There’s only one who is worthy of any pedestal, and that’s our living God! There’s no thing, no human worthy of our worship – only the living God who made everything!
- How might you tell the difference between honoring Christian leaders and putting them on a pedestal?
- Are there things in your life that you are giving more importance to than God? What do you need to do to “turn from” these things?
Prayer
Ask God to search your heart for what you might need to turn from and listen to His response.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
