Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time, God is good. TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!
Today I'm going to print the same scripture twice, once in KJV and the other in NIV. This really struck me today as I do hope the Spirit will move you as well. Here is the KJV
Acts 13: 4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. 6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: 7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him. 10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
NIV Acts 13: 4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. 6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
For clarification in verses 6,7; Sergius Paulus served as the governor of the Island. These types of leaders often kept private sorcerers. Bar-Jesus realized that if Servius Paulus believed in Jesus, he would soon be out of a job.
Verses 9,10 when Saul first is called Paul- confronts Bar-Jesus -calls him a child of the devil and says when will you quite perverting the ways of the LORD.
Verse 10 is when the Holy Spirit let Paul to confront Bar-Jesus with his sin. This is what we need to be aware of as well.
THERE IS A TIME TO BE NICE AND A TIME TO CONFRONT.
We need to ask GOD, the Holy Spirit to show us the difference, give us the courage and words to say in doing what is right.
Where are you today? Would you confront Bar-Jesus, or just go off thinking it will be okay? Stand up fellow Christian; stand firm; share the Good News of Jesus Christ our savior. Thank you for reading today. Love you all.
In Christ's Love and Grace
Johnny
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