Acts 18

Bible Passage:  Acts 18

“Janice said…”

“Janice did it too!”

“Janice was with me in the bus this morning when…”

“I asked Janice about it, and she felt that it would be better if…”

We tend to talk about the people we like, our interests, and things dear to us.

As I read through this chapter and recalled the earlier chapters of Acts, it was clear what was on Paul’s mind.

⁴ And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

⁵ When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

¹⁹ And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

Relevance of Our Faith in God to Others

We may say that Paul went about sharing and correcting others on things pertaining to the truth with such fervour because he encountered God personally and henceforth made upholding the truth his mission in life. But have we not received the same precious Holy Spirit and commission too? (Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15)

If we do not often think about how our lives can be aligned with God’s teachings and purpose for us, then our faith in God may one day become irrelevant to ourselves and worse still, to others.

Even with God’s grace abundant in our lives, we do not seem to be aware, could it be because we never spent much time and thought on it? When asked to testify for God, we have little or nothing to share with regards to God’s grace, blessings, and preservation.

As we slowly drift away from God, it comes as no surprise that we would be at a lost for words when our friends ask us about God, our faith and salvation. And if others cannot see how our faith in God saves us, how will they come to know and thirst for Him in theirs?

Paul was a walking testimony for God, living his life in His favour, with his mind filled with His interests. How can we live our lives so that others may be edified, and are drawn to this faith?

⁸ Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

The Tough Needs Strengthening Too!

⁹ Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”

Paul certainly did not show that he was afraid (Acts 17:3, 22-31). He not only reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue every Sabbath, he even demonstrated (I wonder how he did that – could he have related or enacted his encounter with the light and how he was made blind and rebuked by God?) that Jesus is Christ.

But our Lord knows. He must have seen through Paul’s tough exterior.

God knows when we are feeling scared or vulnerable. He sees and feels our anxieties and needs (Heb 4:15-16).

And sometimes the tough needs comforting, encouragement and strengthening too. So the next time you see someone who is deemed strong in faith, and unshakably fervent in church, don’t look upon him/her as one who is not in need of any care or concern J

God bless!