Devotional Blog - Monday, February 20th

Daily Devotional for Monday, February 20th

The Conversions in Iconium

“And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the
Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks
believed. Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony
unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders
sto be done by their hands,” Acts 14:1, 3.

 

“To evangelize . . . does not mean to win converts . . . simply to announce the good news irrespective of the results.”—John Stott
This quote may seem to counter the commands of Scripture regarding our evangelistic work because we pray and work to see people converted to
Christ. However, it is possible that we become discouraged along the way if we do not see the resulting conversions that we imagined we would see. Evangelism (sharing the gospel consistently with friends and strangers) can sometimes be quite a long task without seeing a conversion. Other times, we may see many resulting conversions because God has already prepared someone’s heart prior to us meeting them.
Paul and Barnabas arrived in Iconium and preached the gospel in the synagogue of the Jews. It seems there was an immediate harvest of souls after they preached. Our key verses tell us they remained in Iconium and continued to preach for a long time. It may be that there were few conversions after the first event in verse 1. Yet, Paul and Barnabas faithfully preached the gospel to the community for quite some time after the events
in the synagogue.
We must be encouraged with the facts that God is at work in the hearts of the unconverted after we begin to preach the gospel to them. We must not quit so easily if we do not see measurable results leading to a conversion in a short period of time. We are not tasked with results. We are tasked with obedience: preach the gospel to every creature!

 

 

REFLECTION
Preaching the gospel to our acquaintances is a long and diligent task.
Remain faithful telling the good news as the Holy Spirit works
in the hearts of the hearers.

 

Steven Ridings