The "I Am" is with us

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

The "I AM" is with us. 

Acts 18:7-11

7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him 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 for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

NIV

After witnessing the frustration of Paul with the Jews in the synagogue, shaking his clothes off against their opposition to the good news about Jesus, we now have the Lord God giving Paul both comfort and counsel. He has determined by the resistance to the freedom in Christ with their insistence to remain tied to the law, that he would focus solely on the Gentiles. Therefore, he left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, who was a worshiper of God, although a Gentile. It is interesting that Paul went right next door to the synagogue. We do not think that Titius, or as some manuscripts use the name Titus, did not invite Paul to be his house guest, but rather opened his house to be used as a meeting place for Paul to continue his preaching of the good news. This would seem right for several reasons. First, we think that Paul continued his connection with Aquila and Priscilla by making tents, to both help support his ministry as well as to continue a friendship that must have developed. We were told that he aboded with them, meaning he took up residence with them. Second, if this is the case, Paul took lodging with those two, and thus Titus’s house being right next door, actually physically adjoining to the building of the Synagogue, as in the Greek, the word next door means would have been somewhat of a slam in the face to those Jews who vehemently opposed him. However, the real story here is all about the Lord God and his hand upon Paul. God speaks to Paul in a vision, which is something to gaze upon, a supernatural spectacle. We cannot be sure just exactly what that means, on a personal note, I have had an encounter with God through hearing his still small voice giving me directions to move locations, cities, and even to a different state. There is no question in my mind that God’s hand has and is working in my life, in a real and physical way. So, when he speaks to Paul in a vision, we believe Paul not only saw something, but heard the voice of God giving him specific details as to what to do, and where to be. One of the most used words of God when speaking to his servants is, “Do not be afraid”, and the reason being is, “For I am with you”.  He instructed Paul not to remain silent, but to keep on keeping on speaking, and again this is because God had many people in that city. That is God was already doing the work in people’s lives, and they only needed to hear the words of Paul to confirm within them that they had begun to sense the Lord God of Israel, but had yet heard about God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The lesson for us today is to follow suit. That is to not remain silent but keep on speaking about Jesus Christ to all who would listen, or at least were within the range of our voice, because God is already doing the work within many people, and today it would seem right to believe he speaks to them through the convicting power of the Spirit. This is not to say that we will not encounter those who are fervently opposed to the good news about Jesus. There will always be people who prefer their own brand of life that does not include God. There will always be people who have been indoctrinated, in some sense, by those who believe man is at the center of all things, having evolution as their god. Nevertheless, God is at work and he is speaking into the hearts of people, and all they need is for us to keep on speaking the truth about Jesus Christ, and let God do the rest. Therefore, we need not be afraid, for the "I AM" is with us.