TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. Acts 11:21
Read: Acts 11:19-21
Listen: Acts 11
TODAY’S MESSAGE
The Jesus-followers in Jerusalem flee for their lives after Stephen is murdered. Instead of going back to their hometowns or ancestral lands, some decide to spread the message of Jesus around the world. During this disruptive experience, they choose to be on God’s mission. They settle in a new town to develop new business relationships and maybe even new job skills. All this to spread the good news of Jesus in a new place. We read that God was with them, and people begin to follow Jesus.
Pastor Jeff Manion often reminds us that we don’t follow Jesus to get to where we are going, but we follow him to get to where he is going. Amid a disruptive season, we can choose to do our own thing, or we can choose God’s mission. We can myopically focus on our own needs and problems or look at the people around us with compassion. Just like God was with the early Jesus-followers who traveled to Antioch, we can pray for God to be with us as we share the love of Jesus with others.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Tell God you choose his mission. Consider what it would look like for you to move toward someone in your life who doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus. For more information on how to have a spiritual conversation with someone, watch this conversation between Pastor Jeff Manion and John Dickson called Sharing Your Faith Naturally. If you’d like to have a conversation about sharing your faith, feel free to reach out to us at btw@adabible.org.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
