How ready are you?

Acts 13:14-33

¹⁴ But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia.

On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. ¹⁵ After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”

¹⁶ So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me.

¹⁷ “The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery. ¹⁸ He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness. ¹⁹ Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance. ²⁰ All this took about 450 years.

“After that, God gave them judges to rule until the time of Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. ²² But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’

²³ “And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel! ²⁴ Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized. ²⁵ As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon—and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’

²⁶ “Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us! ²⁷ The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. ²⁸ They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

²⁹ “When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead! ³¹ And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

³² “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, ³³ and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.’

Paul and company now land in Asia Minor, or Turkey today, and go to the local synagogue on the sabbath. As guests they are asked to share an encouragement. Paul, with no preparation then speaks through the Old Testament scriptures, what the hearers know is true, ending with Jesus as the fulfilment of these scriptures and prophecies. 

I’m now sitting wondering if I am a guest in another setting and on the spot asked to share a word of encouragement, would I be able and ready? What would I share? 

Being in God’s word daily is a good place to start, to share what Jesus is saying and doing in my life now. This passage has reminded me to always be ready (2Tim 4:2) … always be ready to encourage others, always be ready to share Jesus with others, always be ready to share what is true in my life. 

Lord Jesus, may we always be ready to tell others about you, encourage others of what you are doing in our lives at any given time and to be aware that others are actually hungry to hear.

Written by Suzie Hodgson