TOPIC: EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY!
OPENING PRAYER: Help me to understand the exceeding greatness of your power as I read through this passage, dear Lord.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 17:1-15
Question(s) for Reflection
• Is there any example for me to follow or not to follow?
• What is God revealing to me in this passage?
Notice Paul’s custom or strategy as a missionary and the focus of his message in vs.2-3 cf. vs.10, 17a; Acts 9:20; 13:5, 14; 14:1; 18:4, 19; 19:8 cp. Luke 4: 16. Whenever any Jew is convinced that Jesus is their expected Messiah, they readily accept Him as their saviour. That was the turning point for Paul as for many Jews in Thessalonica and Berea. It is noteworthy that while ‘some’ Jews believed in Thessalonica (v.4a), those who responded to Paul’s message in Berea were ‘many’ (v.12a). What accounted for the difference in their responses (v.11)?
Notice also that in both Thessalonica and Berea that many Greeks, including prominent women, believed in Christ (vs. 4b, 12b). We will do well to follow the Bereans’ example and meditate on the Scripture daily. Then we will be able to confirm or dispute the messages we receive from our pulpits and will ‘no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes’ (Ephesians 4:14, ESV).
Observe the activities of the Jews who did not believe against Paul and his missionary team in vs. 5, 13. It is worth noting that witnessing or living for Christ may bring persecution (vs.6-7; cf. 2 Timothy 3:12). Thank God for Paul’s resolute determination to continue to proclaim the gospel message, continuous oppositions notwithstanding. What a challenge!
Practice/Word Application
• What Next? List some reasons Christians refrain from witnessing.
• Any new insight or reinforcement of what you already know?
Closing Prayer
• Pray for strength to overcome these hindrances and become a true witness for Christ.
• Thank God for the effect of witnessing in converting sinners to faith in Christ Jesus; bless His name for your salvation.
Offer a prayer of faith in line with
• Ezra 6-8; 2 Tim. 3
Thank you for your time in reading Today’s Scripture Union SU Daily Guide 9 November 2021 | Examining The Scriptures Daily!
