In The Word
Read: Acts 18:1-17
Paul in Corinth
18 After these events Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked together, for they were tent-makers by trade. 4 And Paul was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, were believing and being baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul by a vision at night, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he settled there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13 saying, “This man is inciting the people to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or vicious, unscrupulous act, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; 15 but if there are questions about teaching and persons and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.” 16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat. 17 But they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. And yet Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Today we read of a typical week for Paul. He worked as a tentmaker all week (Acts 18:3), shared the gospel every Saturday at the synagogue, and devoted himself completely to the Word (Acts 18:4). Doing this helped him preach to the Jews at Corinth. The Jews would again reject the gospel of Christ, and Paul made his historic declaration that he would devote his life to sharing the gospel with the Gentiles. God came in a vision to encourage Paul, telling him of His protection and direction (Acts 18:9, 10). Apparently, Paul was in God’s perfect will.
Many times, I meet people who think they’re not being used by God because they are not on staff in ministry or a local church. As we read today, Paul had a regular job to meet his needs financially and preached on his days off! You should never believe that God can’t use you because you have no title. Paul witnessed wherever God had planted him at that time in his life. In 2 Corinthians 11:6, Paul says, “But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.” Devoting himself to the Word of God was Paul’s secret! He wasn’t a good speaker; he had to work for a living and was rejected often. That sounds a lot like you and I! Are you spending time in the Word of God? Devoting yourself to it? Devoting means to concentrate on a particular purpose or pursuit, to set apart or dedicate by solemn act. Are you concentrating or pursuing the Word of God? Start today!