Acts 18:24-26 - And a certain
Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in
the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way
of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught
diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of
John. And he began to speak boldly
in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him
unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more
perfectly.
Paul and Silas...the other apostles….and all the other
disciples of Jesus ….were not the only good teachers of God’s truth. Many converts became just as passionate to
spread the gospel as the original 12 and the other’s that God ordained and anointed
by great fillings of the Holy Spirit. Apollos was one…but his passion came from
the stories John the Baptist had shared.
His powerful sermons were missing everything that came after. Apollos
still looked for the Messiah to come.
Aquila … Priscilla…and Paul listened intently to his
powerful words…then with their own great passion… shared the rest of the story.
They filled in the scriptures that showed clearly that God had indeed sent Jesus
to be the Messiah…and all the things that had happened to fulfill evry prophecy.
He accepted it at once…and began to preach even more powerful sermons after.
I am reminded of Romans 10:14…. “How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear
without a preacher?” Paul may have written this verse just after realizing that
many people like Apollos needed to hear about Jesus…so their understanding of the
scriptures would be complete.
We never realize just how God will use the simple things in
our life to open a door to share His gospel. I was wearing my youth camp T-shirt
as I unpacked one day this week. I stopped to treat myself to some ice cream on
the way to moms to spend the night. The girl that served my cone up wanted to
know what the picture was on the front…so I proceeded to start a guessing game
of Bible characters. Long story short…she
revealed that she didn’t know many Bible characters…and looked so puzzled when I
revealed the picture was Lazarus. I stopped my conversation with her there…cause
she was working….but perhaps I planted a seed…and she will look him up when she
is off. I also know where she works…and they have a no sugar added vanilla that
I can always go back to enjoy. This could lead to more…who knows.
Father…thank you for the reminder that you are always
opening opportunities for me to share who you are with others. Forgive me for
the times that I rush past those opportunities and miss the chance to introduce
someone to Jesus. Help me to be so in
tune with your will that I see and hear every opening you provide to me for
sharing your word. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment