Daily Devotional for Saturday, September 23

The Lord Commanded Us

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region,” Acts 13:48, 49.

How we admire the obedience a dog shows to its master! Archibald Rutledge wrote that one day he met a man whose dog had just been killed in a forest fire. Heartbroken, the man explained to Rutledge how it happened. Because he worked out-of-doors, he often took his dog with him. That morning, he left the animal in a clearing and gave him a command to stay and watch his lunch bucket while he went into the forest. His faithful friend understood, for that is exactly what he did. Then a fire started in the woods, and soon the blaze spread to the spot where the dog had been left. But he did not move. He stayed right where he was, in perfect obedience to his master’s word. (Source - Our Daily Bread)

As Paul and Barnabas were preaching in Antioch, the power of God accompanied them and many people were saved. On the sabbath, a large group of people came to hear them preach the Word. But as God was moving mightily in the city, Satan stirred up the religious mob with contempt toward the gospel. The Jews were jealous of the crowds of people who were listening and began to contradict the preaching of the Word.

As the firestorm of conflict rose around Paul and Barnabas, it would have been easy for them to be quiet and move along. But the preachers “waxed bold” (verse 46) and continued to faithfully preach the gospel. You see, Paul and Barnabas were obedient to the commands of Christ to faithfully preach the Word. These two preachers did not shrink in the midst of conflict. Instead, they faithfully and boldly preached the gospel 
in Antioch.

FINAL THOUGHT: No matter what conflicts arise, we must be faithfully obedient to God’s commands.

Steven Ridings