August 6th, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Qualities for Mission

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Opening Prayer

Lord, I dedicate this day to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You. Help me, I pray.

Read Acts 17:1-15

[1] When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. [2] As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, [3] explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. [4] Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. [5] But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. [6] But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, [7] and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” [8] When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. [9] Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. [10] As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. [11] Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. [12] As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. [13] But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. [14] The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. [15] Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Cor. 3:6,7).

Think Further

One of the qualities which mission demands of us is flexibility. Paul understood that he had been called to preach to the Gentiles but that did not override his concern for his own people, the Jews, and even in pagan cities his starting point was usually the synagogue (2). Our foremost calling is to follow Christ, and while we need to steward our time and energy carefully, we mustn’t be too choosy about who we minister to. Proclaiming Christ is our central task, whether we do it to young or old, to people from our own culture or to those from other backgrounds.

Another quality demonstrated here is patience. Even though Paul’s time in Thessalonica was shorter than his extended stays in other places, such as one and a half years in Corinth (18:11), his proclamation wasn’t hurried. He went to the synagogue on three Sabbath days, taking time to “[reason] with them from the Scriptures” (2,3). Evangelism may be urgent but it is not usually quick. Undue haste can limit its effectiveness severely. Here Paul’s patience was rewarded when Jews and Greeks joined him (4).

Whether it came through bitter experience or not, Paul was resilient in the face of opposition. His proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah who suffered was enough to disturb some of the Jews (5), but when they brought him to the city officials, the accusation was that he claimed that Jesus was king (7). Perhaps the ability to tailor the accusation to the particular judge was something they had learned from Jesus’ own accusers (Luke 23:1,2). However, the motive of people who oppose the message is not always as straightforward as it seems. Luke says that the real reason for the opposition of some of the Jews was neither theological nor a concern for Caesar (7)—it was simple jealousy (5).

Apply

What do you see as your main area of ministry? Are there other needs and opportunities which you should be considering?

Closing prayer

Father, give me discernment and wisdom as I share my faith with others. I trust in the fact that You give the gift of faith.

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