“The two of them, sent on their way by the
Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they
arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.
John was with them as their helper.” (Acts 13:4-5)
Pocket Devotions www.ptl.org
Thoughts for Today:
“Previously the leaders of the
church at Antioch had been instructed by the Holy Spirit to, “Set apart for
me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” If
the Holy Spirit spoke to the church right now about setting you aside for
service, then the church would need to assign your current duties to someone
else, because the Spirit was going to use you in another way. For Barnabas and
Saul that would mean packing their bags as they would be going on a journey.
Saul had been a Christian for 12 to 14 years, Barnabas for much longer. They
both loved to travel and share the good news about the Lord, so it was clear to
them that when they received the Holy Spirit's instruction it was time to hit
the road.
So now that we see what Barnabas
and Saul did when they were called, what would you do if you were called?
Remember, the leadership of the church wasn't given specific instructions on
what they were to do (it was only given to Barnabas and Saul). If you can't
answer that question, then take note of the last part of verse 5, "John was
with them as their helper." Now this seems like a pretty
innocent verse, however it gives a big answer to those of you who are not sure
about where or how you should be serving -- start by helping someone else who
is clear about their calling by the Holy Spirit. Watch, listen and learn just
like John did.
John was his Jewish name and Mark
was his Roman name. We know him as the constant companion of Paul or Barnabas.
He was not only a missionary but ultimately a leader of the new church and
author of the second book of the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark. Not a bad
resume for someone who started out as a helper.”
Check out my post for Dec. 3, 2011 for "How Will You Answer God's Call? Pocket Devotions
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