February 2, 2012

Acts 16:1-15 (Click to see scripture)

Bible in One Year Passages:
Matthew 10:34-42, Psalm 25:1-10, Exodus 3-4

Journal Entry

Scripture

"Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek" (Acts 16:3).

Observation

During Paul’s second missionary journey, he arrives in Lystra and meets Timothy—most likely a convert from Paul’s first visit. By this time, Timothy has grown into a respected disciple of Jesus and Paul invites him to join his missionary journey. Apparently, Timothy wants to go for he submits to being circumcised. The reason is because he comes from a mixed Greek (father)/Jewish (mother) background, and since many of their audiences would contain Jews who were concerned about keeping the tradition of circumcision, he voluntarily submits himself to it to overcome any barriers to his witness of Christ. He is not required to be circumcised (per Jerusalem Council’s decision in Acts 15), but he does so anyway to help avoid potential problem to his sharing the gospel with the Jews.

Application

What personal sacrifices would I be willing to make for the sake of the gospel? After all, it is Jesus’ expectation that he will call anyone who follows him to make sacrifices (e.g., Matthew 19:29). I shouldn’t see suffering for the sake of the gospel as abnormal or somehow a punishment from God. Instead, sacrifice and self-denial are the normal pattern of the Christian life. It is contradictory and utterly hypocritical of me to claim to want salvation for the lost, yet be unwilling to pay the price for it.

In response to God’s Word for today, I need to go beyond the minimum requirements in order to help the unbeliever receive my testimony about Christ.

Prayer

--P. Michael