Daily Devotional for Wednesday, May 24

Paul Heals Publius’ Father

“In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him,” Acts 28:7, 8.

Paul, recently shipwrecked, arrived on the island of Melita among barbarous people. A chaotic scene unfolded which included Paul being bitten by a snake and the locals considering him to be a god. Among the confusion, Paul encountered Publius whose father was quite ill. Paul ministered to Publius’ father and healed him of his disease. Paul remained and ministered for three months in Melita, and many were healed.
Amid the shipwreck and the snake bite and all the confusion Paul encountered in Melita, it would have been easy for him to excuse himself from ministering to the people. But, Paul was faithful to heal people and no doubt preach the gospel for the entirety of his time in Melita.
Present-day Americans live hectic lives filled with work and social activities. So much so, we may find it easy to excuse ourselves from the important task of evangelizing our community. Yet neither the busyness of our lives nor the chaos of the culture is an excuse for us to dispense of our duty to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even in our full schedules, we can intentionally use our time to minister the good news of Jesus to our neighbors and friends.

THOUGHT: No matter how hectic our lives may be, we must faithfully share the gospel to every person we encounter.

Steven Ridings