Acts 13 in The Message and TNIV translations
The most obvious stand out for me this morning as I read chapter 13 was Paul's clear presentation of the Gospel - the Good News of Jesus...the rescuing of a father's children. I thought as I read that, "Where has that message gone?" I thought of the unofficial church growth mantra for planning messages, "There three things people want to hear about: sex, end times and will there be sex in the end times?" Our messages as churches have been reduced to our needs as people and often not given any more power than Dr. Oz's latest visit to the Oprah show. I wonder how our church will be different if the Gospel was central in all of our teachings...
The less obvious stand out is continuing to ring in my ear. In verse 43, Paul and Barnabas hung around talking with people after Paul's message and "urged them in long conversations to stick with what they started, this living in and by God's grace." As a conversationalist, I love this. There is nothing I like better than sitting down and having a good long conversation with someone about things that matter - like endurance and grace. The problem for me is that my time doesn't allow for this. I have worked myself into a dilemma, one that you may also be familiar with.
I have no margin. I get up early, go to the office early, work later than I plan, get home and start on job #2. I do make time to eat with my family and have a little time with them before putting them to bed and moving on to job #3. I go to bed tired and I wake up tired, only to start the whole day over again. I tell myself this is just a season, but how long does a "season" last before it becomes a "lifestyle"? This hasn't always been the case.
With little discipline and perhaps more prayer, I believe that my choices can be better made to create the desired margin - space for long conversations, space to sit and visit with you perhaps and space to share the important things in life with others - again.
What are your stand-outs from this chapter?
