Today's Devotion
A Message that Polarizes People - May 7, 2010
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:44-52
In life we sometimes run into polarizing figures. These are people that you either love or hate; there is no “in-between”. One example of a polarizing figure might be Rush Limbaugh. There are those that love him and listen to his show every day. Others can’t stand listening to him and would love to have him off the air completely. Very rarely will you find someone on the “middle of the fence” when it comes to their opinion about him.
In today’s reading from the book of Acts we hear that the Apostle Paul was sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins. This made Paul a polarizing figure. Some loved him. After the Gentiles (non-Jewish people) heard Paul speak God’s Word, “they were glad and honored the word of the Lord.” Others hated Paul. “They were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. . . They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their region.”
Why are those who preach about Jesus so polarizing? It is because of the message of law and gospel. God’s message of law reminds all of us that we are sinners. We have broken God’s law and deserved to be punished, not only in this life, but for an eternity in hell. Hearing the truth about our sin brings about one of two responses. Either we admit that God is right and we have sinned, or we live in stubborn denial of all that we have done against God’s will. There is no in-between.
The good news is that all those who admit their sin to God find free forgiveness in Jesus. For this very reason Jesus came down from heaven and gave his life on the cross to pay for the sins of all people. It is great news for all who trust in him.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you to see Jesus as your Savior and fill you with the comfort of his forgiveness. Confess your sin. Know that Christ loves you and has forgiven you.
Heavenly Father, give me a humble heart to confess my sins, and because of Jesus, forgive my sins and put my conscience to rest. Fill my heart with gratitude for the good news of salvation through Jesus. Amen.
Today's Devotion is brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Missed your daily devotion? Browse the archive, which has several months' worth of devotions to uplift and encourage you with the Word.
