Good Morning Friends,
Do you have trouble believing that people can
be changed by God? So did the early church.
Saul spent many days in Damascus after God’s
miraculous intervention in his life on the road into that city. He proved a
powerful preacher and many people came to faith because of his defense of the
gospel. He was so powerful as a preacher that the enemies of the gospel wanted to
do away with him and plotted to kill him.
Saul escaped from Damascus and traveled to
Jerusalem. In Jerusalem the reaction of the Christians there demonstrated their
skepticism about God’s ability to change someone like Saul.
“When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join
the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really
was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told
them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to
him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So
Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in
the name of the Lord.” (Acts 9:26-29)
Barnabas was respected by the rest of the
church in Jerusalem and he took a chance on Saul. Barnabas staked his
reputation on Saul and brought him into the church.
The rest, of course, is history. The church
embraced Saul because of Barnabas’s recommendation and Barnabas and Saul became
a team who would preach the gospel over great portions of the Roman Empire. Thousands
of lives would be changed because of God’s work through their ministry. And it all started with Barnabas being
willing to take a chance and believe that God could change even a man like
Saul!
God still changes people’s lives. The church
is still often skeptical. We need people like Barnabas who put their own
reputation on the line to stand with those whose lives God is changing.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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