Day 317 - Acts Saturday (chapters 13-14)
6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus (Elymas). 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But ... the magician ... opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. (Acts 13:6-12 ESV)
Elymas was lost in a spiritual darkness of his own making prior to the Holy Spirit blinding him physically. He was a son of the devil, an enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, who would not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord, that is, not until God confronted him through the apostle Paul.
I wonder how many people from that time and place were afraid of Elymas, the sorcerer (King James Version)? Many today are also afraid of those whom they think have special power, special knowledge or special influence. The politically correct, the intellectual elite, vocal fringe groups, anti-Christian forces, and cross-less “Christians” are all lost in their own particular forms of spiritual darkness. We, however, need not fear these powers of darkness. John encourages us with these enlightening words:
In him (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:4 ESV)
Heavenly Father, thank You for the assurance that the Light of the world, my Lord Jesus, is far brighter than the darkness of this world. Please let His light shine through me so that others may also be led to saving faith in Jesus. Amen.
“See” you in church tomorrow.
Pastor David Paape
The following link is to the 52 Week Reading Plan Bible upon which these devotions are based. http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf
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