Take a moment to read Acts 14:1-7 before reading the devotional below.
The mission of Paul and Barnabas is starting to seem a little bit like that movie Groundhog Day. Everywhere they go the same thing happens — they win over the crowds with the message of Jesus and those in power feel threatened and incite riots. They’re getting used to it now, so here in Iconium (a large city located in modern-day Turkey) they stay for a long time instead of leaving.
Can I be really honest with you for a moment? As I read the Bible and write about it, I keep running across the same thing. In verse 3 we find a theme we’ve seen so much in Luke and Acts: the Gospel message was proven to be true by the power they had to do miraculous signs and wonders. That was true all the way back to Moses and Pharaoh in Exodus 3-12. But here in America I don’t see that power on full display. To be honest it is barely a flicker at this point. Too often, we put on a show with lights and bells and whistles, but we have no supernatural power to back up our message. If the church were a place that was famous for healing the blind, for example, I don’t think we’d have to try so hard to get people in the door.
I don’t have all the answers as to why we look around and seem impotent, but as long as Christians remain convinced that the Spirit’s power is limited we will not see miracles in our day. Who can we expect to preach the Gospel boldly if it is not those of us who already believe? I take note of the fact that Paul and Barnabas first preached, risking their lives daily to do so. It was after their bold courage that the Holy Spirit brought the supernatural proof. And perhaps that is what we have lost — a life-or-death determination to spread the word that Jesus is for everyone. And an almost total absence of miracles is the price we are paying for living lives absent of true risk.