Acts 18
Scripture:
[5] When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. [6] And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
Observation:
In this situation, as Paul preached the gospel to the Jews, it wasn’t just that they didn’t believe, they reviled him – they were scornful and became abusive. His time was far better spent for the Kingdom of Jesus elsewhere.
Application:
This is a direct application of what Jesus taught in Mat 7:6 – Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
It is one thing to teach and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to unbelievers who can hear, and totally another thing to be abused in the process. God will put plenty of unbelievers with open hearts in our path. Our time is far better spent giving our personal gospel story to them than to waste it on scoffers and abusers.
Prayer:
Lord I love you. Help me recognize the unbelievers in my path with whom you want me to spend time telling my gospel story. I pray you help me know when their hearts and eyes are open enough for them to listen to your word. Lord I know you love everyone but help me know when I should move on and when I should dig deeper with people in my sphere of influence. I pray I glorify you in those decisions. In Jesus holy name I pray, amen.