[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jason Bandura works with the Glen Elm Church of Christ. Married to Shannon, he is Dad to three lovely daughters. He lives on the Canadian prairies and writes occasionally HERE.]
Is this an early Christian mission OR one of pop music’s teen idols battling for survival?
In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas have to fight off adoring fans. While preaching the Gospel with the city of Lystra, they healed a local cripple, sending the crowd into bedlam. The whispers-turned-to-shouts begin to revolve around a theory that the two missionaries are actually Zeus and Hermes mingling among humanity.
Paul and Barnabas were having none of it:
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
That last sentence recently grabbed my Advent-tuned mind. Continue reading
An Advent Blog 