Encouragement and Support

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night.  A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."  Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

--Acts 16:9-10  (NKJV)

From the daily Bible reading on March 9, 2013 of Psalm 49:1-11; Acts 15:36-16:15; Numbers 6-7:29.

Two aspects of this passage bear noting.  First is the term "man of Macedonia", the image that appeared to Paul in his vision.  Macedonia was the region of Greek influence, so this "man" represented all the culture, intelligence, achievements, and even religion of the Greek civilization.  Yet "he" was asking for help because "he", in other words, the entire civilization, was spiritually bankrupt.  This is our cue.  The Holy Spirit was leading Paul to spread the Gospel there, in Macedonia, just as He leads us to share the Good News with those who are spiritually and morally bereft here in the natural world around us.

But perhaps more interesting are the two words "we" and "us" appearing in the narrative where they have not been used up to this point.  The Apostle Luke is the author of the Books of Acts, and by this inclusion we know he joined up with Paul in Troas and went with him to Philippi.  In verse one of this chapter we learn of the young man Timothy, who Paul took along with him and Silas on what we now call this second missionary journey.  So now the brothers number four, and include two apostles and a "leading man among the brethren".  What were they planning?  "We sought to go to" the spiritually lost.  Why?  Because "the Lord called us to preach the Gospel to them."  How exciting this must have been for the small churches this group visited in their travels, how encouraging for them to have four strong believers come among them at once!  And how much strength it must have given each other, to have so much love and support with them, all four working closely together in service to the Lord!  This should serve as a model for us, to strengthen, encourage, and support one another every hour of the day, to work together toward a common goal of expanding the kingdom of God and the realm of Jesus.  Amen.

Lord Jesus, may we always strive to live the examples You give us in Your Holy word.  May we strengthen each other and build one another up, rather than trying to put each other down.  May our joy in serving You call others to our side that want to experience the same joy in Your service.  In Your name, dear Jesus, we pray.   Amen.