1. Paul and Barnabas spoke in the Jewish meeting place in Iconium, just as they had done at Antioch, and many Jews and Gentiles put their faith in the Lord. 2. But the Jews who did not have faith in him made the other Gentiles angry and turned them against the Lord's followers. 3. Paul and Barnabas stayed there for a while, having faith in the Lord and bravely speaking his message. The Lord gave them the power to work miracles and wonders, and he showed that their message about his great kindness was true.
4. The people of Iconium did not know what to think. Some of them believed the Jewish group, and others believed the apostles. 5. Finally, some Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, decided to make trouble for Paul and Barnabas and to stone them to death.
6-7. But when the two apostles found out what was happening, they escaped to the region of Lycaonia. They preached the good news there in the towns of Lystra and Derbe and in the nearby countryside.
The political wisdom in some camps suggests the nation of Israel should negotiate a peace with Hezbollah...a group that has sworn to destroy Israel. I don't understand the logic. This is like the mouse negotiating with the cat over how close they should sleep.
But, believe me...stranger things have happened...with predictable results.
In the first century there was nothing that could get a pious Jew to work in concert with a Gentile. To them, Gentiles were dogs...beneath contempt. Except...when it comes to Jesus.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend!"
So, we have the Gospel of Jesus posing such a threat to Jewish sensibilities that they courted the Gentile vote in order to get rid of the Apostles.
This tells me one thing for sure. When I catch myself saying "I shouldn't be doing this", I shouldn't be.
Even at that, they were unable to stop the power of the Gospel. It's such a silly notion...form an unholy alliance to stop the unstoppable.
But we try. We take the wrong jobs, we marry the wrong people, we hang with the wrong crowd...all unholy alliances...just to keep God from having His way in our lives. If we're honest, we know it's true. Not that we consciously intended to violate the things we hold dear. It's in our nature we do it naturally. Ask the Jews in Iconium.
On the other hand, we could determine in our hearts to give God what He's going to get anyway...His way. In the process our relationship with God deepens, our joy expands, and our peace grows beyond measure.
Or, we could live lives of futile anxiety and desperation. I'm just saying...
Live boldly out there today...
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