Distinctly Divided by the Holy Spirit
Scripture Passage: Acts 14:1-7 (NASB)
1 In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a way that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brothers. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be performed by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, while others, with the apostles. 5 And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to treat them abusively and to stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.
SUMMARY
Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel at the synagogue of the Jews, and many people among both Jews and Gentiles, come to believe. But the unbelieving Jews opposed them by stirring up animosity against the two apostles. As the two apostles remained there continuing to preach boldly for a long time, the Lord supplied them with power to perform miraculous signs and wonders. The people of the city became so divided between the unbelieving Jews and the believers, that there was an attempt to stone the apostles. Paul and Barnabas then fled to other regions to continue preaching the gospel.
MEDITATION AND REFLECTION
In this passage, I see that the work of the Holy Spirit distinctly divides the evil from the holy. As the radical message of the gospel is delivered, the unbelievers become more evil, attempting to stir up poison in their brothers minds to reject the message (v. 2), while God’s children become more reliant on the Holy Spirit to speak more boldly (v. 3) The truth of the gospel message will clearly separate those who reject God from those who are His children. Meanwhile, the work of the Holy Spirit also binds and unifies together even more, those who are in Christ.
Recently, my nine year old son’s friends have been sharing secular music with him, that is not children’s music. They email him links from Youtube to music videos or they ask him to play online games together. They also recommend him to watch certain secular tv shows. None of them are explicitly bad, and thankfully, my son is not interested at all yet. But it has challenged me to decide and think ahead that we need to be separate and be distinctly different from the world, not to let worldly entertainment creep into our home, and especially not at this young age. Although the music is not explicitly evil, it can be a mindless, addicting distraction from Satan, especially to young minds. I need to take a strong stance against this kind of worldly entertainment in my home.
APPLICATION
The mothers of my son’s friends have asked if we could schedule my son to play online games, and I have simply said that he does not play them. We have joked about it saying that we must be the few who do not nowadays. Other times, the mothers and I also talked about how sad it is that kids these days have fewer social interactions that they resort to online gaming with their friends, just to have a semblance of connection with their friends. I hope to be bolder by the Holy Spirit in these conversations to explain why we do not play online games or why we rarely watch popular tv shows. I did not want to offend anyone who makes a different choice nor did I want to seem judgemental or too strict. But as a Christian, I don’t want to seem compromising or weak in my convictions. I want it to be clear among my family, my children, and to others, why we do not do certain popular things.
I must be vigilant about letting worldly entertainment into my home, also keeping communication open with my kids. My son and I talk often about the games or trends that are popular among his friends, and we discuss how it relates to our faith in the Lord. I believe he understands, and I believe even at his young age, he knows why many of these forms of entertainment do not benefit his relationship with God. I will continue to keep openly discussing with him, not judging him or anyone else. I will continue to pray for my children and their friends as they are lured and surrounded by worldly entertainment.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
Thank you that your Holy Spirit radically separates us from evil. I also thank you that, as I am separated from evil, I am strengthened in my faith, and I become more reliant on the Lord. Embolden me to explain in a wise and loving way, to my children why we make the choices we do based on our faith. I pray that our family can be even more open in our communication and even more united together in our hearts, by the wisdom and faith you grant us. Also, help me to have the faith and confidence by the Holy Spirit to explain to anyone else when it is necessary.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Please share your personal meditations on this Scripture passage with the HolyWave community in the comments section below. (We reserve the right to moderate comments.)