Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)
Acts 11:19-26

Dear God, I was listening to the Holy Post podcast this morning, and one of the hosts was talking about a recent medical emergency in his family. This host likes to take stories that others tell from their lives and ask if they can make a sermon illustration out of it, so someone asked him if he could do that. He said something to the effect of, “I need some more distance from it before I can do that.” In other words, “Too soon.”

I mention this because the new, young, soon-to-be-named “Christian” church had no idea what was going on in the moment. The Holy Spirit was leading them step by step, keeping them on a need-to-know basis, and there was very little they needed to know. In fact, had the Spirit revealed everything to them at once they might have goofed it up somehow. No, they needed to struggle through it.

So why should I be any different? Why should I get to understand what you are doing in my life, my community, my country, and my world? You are so much bigger than me. I mean, even that sentence is a laughable understatement. You are timeless. You are all-knowing. I am just here doing what is in front of me. Help me to be okay with that. Give me your peace.

Father, I give you my heart today. I give you my work. I give you my love. I give you my inconvenience. Help me to be a blessing to your world. Help me to love others on your behalf today. Help me to call others to you. Help me to draw closer to you myself. I’m about to write over 100 letters to people who attended our event the other night. Help me to say what you want me to say for their sake, not mine. For your sake, not mine. For your glory, not mine. Quickly, I pray also for the father of a coworker who is having heart issues. I pray for the heart issues of a loved one in my own family. I pray for the family that is burying a woman today who suffered greatly, and now they are suffering even more. Oh, Father, in each of these situations, make this pain count. Heal bodies. Heal souls. Heal hearts. Heal wounds. And use all of this to draw each person involved closer to you.

I offer all of this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen