Wednesday 22nd February - Acts 14

Today’s chapter is Acts 14

Tom writes:

He had been dragged out of there with a bloodied face, two black eyes and stone marks all over his body. Many had supposed he was dead. So when Paul showed up later and said “it is through many tribulations that we must enter the Kingdom of God” he had some credibility. He also has something to teach us. In recent years we have made “entering the Kingdom” a “salvation-moment” event. With this assumption we can think that after we come to faith, God will look after us as we fairly passively pursue his plans. The sense of kingdom struggle has been sucked out of our story. Paul would be aghast at such an assumption. Paul knew that “entering the Kingdom” was something that did happen at conversion but that it was also an ongoing activity in this life and - most crucially - would only fully occur when Jesus returns, destroys all evil and releases redeeming renewal on all things in creation. Paul wanted all the church of Jesus to know that, until the return of Jesus, she must endure a similar kind of pummelling to what Paul received in Lystra.

The aggressive opposition of “the dark powers” is something his churches have to be able to survive and, indeed, fight back against. So, like with a boxer, Paul put a trainer and a cut-man in the corner of each believer. The “trainer” was church leaders (v23); recognised, authorised elders who would protect, encourage and train the believer to fight for the “coming of the Kingdom” that is already available right now. You need a good church leader in your life who inspires you and equips you to expect more, to experience more. The “cut-man” was prayer and fasting; the intentional intercession for deliverance from evil and growth into all maturity. You need people praying for you, by name, with fasting. One of the biggest learning points for me in recent years has been quite how much I need to fight for the fullness of the Kingdom among us. I am slowly learning what it means to live in this chapter of the story that is characterised by struggle. It is through much hardship we must fight against the powers of darkness. But - as Paul shows us - God does very many things among us if we remain faithful in the fight.

Question for reflection

Who is your church leader? Are you allowing them to equip you for ministry? Who is praying for you, by name? Who are you praying for?