“Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and 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.” Acts 14:19-20a.
In one moment, the crowd was worshipping Paul and Barnabas as gods come in the flesh, and in the next moment, the crowd was won over to being hostile toward them, so much so that they dragged Paul out of the city and stoned him to death. As Paul was lying motionless, some disciples gathered around him. Suddenly, he got up from the ground and went back into the city to tell of the good news concerning Jesus. Paul knew that his mission was not complete, and he was going to do all that he could to finish his work in that city.
Paul was so focused on his goal, which was to follow Jesus and spread the good news concerning Jesus to others, and he was not going to let anything get in the way. What was a stoning to Paul? A minor inconvenience! He got up, went back into the city, and proclaimed Jesus. Paul had a passion for Jesus that stopped at nothing.
As I ponder this, I wonder where the fire is within me. Do I have a burning passion to serve Jesus with all that I am? I sense that I come up woefully short, yet I desire to serve Jesus with passion. I desire to get rid of the distractions and those things that encumber me. I want to make this more than a desire; I want it to be my way of life – to serve Jesus wholeheartedly, even if I lose my life in the process.
Questions to consider: What are you passionate about? What distractions keep you away from Jesus? What are you willing to lose your life for?
Prayer: Father, give me a passion to serve You and the strength to stand up for You no matter what occurs. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment