JUNE 1 READING…ACTS 19
The church is growing and spreading throughout the known world. Apollos was in Corinth, and the Apostle Paul comes and meets a group of John the Baptist’s disciples. Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit, they responded that they had not heard of the Holy Spirit. Paul tied John’s message and baptism to the ministry of Jesus, and the promised coming of the Holy Spirit. They then were baptized in Jesus’ Name, and when Paul placed his hands on them they received the Holy Spirit. They spoke in tongues and prophesied the things of God. Paul then continued to teach for three months in synagogue…God used him to reach both the Jews and the Gentiles. God was working great miracles through Paul in Ephesus, when some itinerant Jewish exorcists decided they would speak the words they heard Paul use, supposing the power was in the words, and they could do the same things they saw Paul doing. When they tried to cast demons out of an individual in the Name of Jesus. The demons said, “Jesus we know, and Paul we know, but who are you?” The demons overpowered these exorcist, beat them, stripped them, and chase them across the country side. God used this to draw many people to faith.
What you and I can know is that wherever the Lord is working, Satan will be there. In Ephesus there was a man named Demetrius who was a silversmith that made the false idols that people worshiped. With people coming to faith in Jesus, they put away their false idols…of course this cut into Demetrius’ profit. He incited the city to defend the honor of Diana, and riot for her cause, trying to lay hands on the believers of Jesus. When they wanted to harm a Jew named Alexander the city clerk basically told them that Diana who came from Zeus was able to take care of herself. It is interesting that down through history humans have believed that they had to defend their gods... when if they were real gods, they certainly would not need their followers to defend them. We Bible believing followers of Christ are not called to defend Jesus, He doesn’t need our defense…we are called to share who He is.
Please share your thoughts from today’s reading.
TOMORROW’S READING…ACTS 20
Commentaires