Promises of God (Acts 18:8-21)

Acts 18:8-21

⁸ Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.

⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

¹² While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. ¹³ “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

¹⁴ Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. ¹⁵ But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” ¹⁶ So he drove them off. ¹⁷ Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.

¹⁸ Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. ¹⁹ They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. ²¹ But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.^[1]

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What’s striking for me in this passage is the length of time that Paul spent in Corinth.  His usual pattern was broken.  Normally he would come into a new city, preach in the synagogue, get kicked out of the synagogue, establish a church with some believing Jews and some Gentiles, then leave (sometimes even driven away).  But here at Corinth, he stayed for a year and a half.

What made the difference?  The promise from the Lord that He was with Paul.  The Lord appeared to Paul and essentially told him to stay put, and promised his safety.

God’s promises made a difference in Paul’s life.  They are to make a difference in my life today.  Although I didn’t have a vision from the Lord last evening giving me instructions for the day, meditating on this text led me to think over a few promises from the Lord in the Word that should shape my life daily.

• The promise of His presence within and around me
• The promise to hear my prayers and answer
• The promise of forgiveness for sins
• The promise of the Holy Spirit to all who ask (Luke 11:13)
• The promise of wisdom to all who ask (James 1:15)
• The promise to provide all that I need when I pursue His Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33)

Those are just a few that quickly came to mind.  Do these promises affect how I face the day and the challenges and opportunities before me?  They should!

So my prayer today is for faith the promises of God, not merely as words, but in the deeds that will make up my life today.

 

What is the Word leading you to pray about today?

^[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Ac 18:7–22). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.