This week I've been reading the book of Acts as well as several Psalms. The book of Acts is about the work of the Apostles as the Church began immediately following Jesus' ascension into heaven. When most people think about the stories from the book of acts, they think about the church speaking in strange languages and the Apostles miraculously healing people. What's funny is that as we look at the stories in Acts, we find that it's not about the miracles; it's about the Message.
In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas have arrived in a city name Paphos. There they are speaking with the proconsul who is accompanied by a magician of some kind named Elymas. Elymas did not like the message of the gospel, so he worked to turn the proconsul away from the faith as Paul and Barnabas taught. When Paul had enough, he declared that Elymas would become blind, and immediately he was unable to see. The next verse is pretty interesting:
Then when the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he was greatly astounded at the teaching about the Lord. Acts 13:12 NET
It wasn't Elymas' blindness that made the real news with the proconsul. He was astounded at the teaching not with the miracle that had been performed.
Sometimes it's easy for us to think, "If God would just work a miracle, people would believe." Even when God was working miracles through his followers on a regular basis, it was the Message not the miracles that brought people to God. Jesus in the four Gospels and the Apostles in Acts clearly teach that the miracles were signs demonstrating the validity of the gospel. Today, we rely on something much more powerful than miracles to verify the truth claims of our faith, but that's for another day.
There is power in the Message of Jesus. Who in your life needs to hear the Message? How are you providing opportunities for them to hear it? The gospel is the power of God. Look for an opportunity today to use this incredible power of God to make a difference in the lives of people around you.
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