Is your middle name "Barnabas"?

Acts 11:19-30 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.) During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem. [New Living Translation]

Good Morning.

The persecution of the Jewish Christians continued to fan them out as far as Antioch--some 300 miles away. But the further they got from the Temple-centric Jerusalem, the more free they were to talk about the good news of Jesus Christ, and they did! Some preached just to the Jews, while others preached to the Gentiles, affirming Peter's experience with them. Christianity exploded in Antioch of Syria. Antioch was 'quite the place' in that day, a hub for travel and commerce, about 300,000 residents, with various religions converging within its boundaries, some of them rather immoral. (The city is located in present-day Turkey, called Antakya, and is just about a sixth of the size of the first century-city.)

I love the line--"the power of the Lord was with them"; I want the power of the Lord to be with me. . . do you? Well maybe the earnest zeal of the Christ-followers, and the passionate sharing of their faith with others had something to do with their realizing His power. I just have to believe it did. . . after all, why else would they even need the power of God in their lives?! Some think that when they are infused with the power from above THEN they will serve God, THEN they will seek Him with all their hearts; hmmm, I think it might be the other way around.

Luke tells us a good deal more about Barnabas, and we learn why he was considered an encourager. Barnabas must have been known for this gift as the Jerusalem church sent him down to stand alongside the growing group of believers in Antioch. He hasn't even unpacked his bag yet, and Barnabas begins encouraging the believers to stay strong and true in the Lord. ➸An encourager sees an area where someone needs to be affirmed or strengthened, and they SPEAK words that bring life. Barnabas realizes the Antiochan church will need more than just him, and so he travels to Tarsus, (about 100 miles away), to engage Saul to help him. You will remember that Saul had been run out out of town after his outspoken conversion experience which had turned him from Christ-hater to a disciple of Christ. Almost 10 years have lapsed since then, and Barnabas encourages Saul to step up into leadership alongside of him in Antioch. ➸An encourager helps people use their gifts for the good of others. ➸Barnabas, the encourager, exhorts, builds people up through the teaching of God's Word. Finally, when a prophetic word had been spoken about coming famine in the land, the church knew that already hard-hit believers in the Jerusalem church would be sorely affected. What do they do? They collect money and send it back with Barnabas and Saul--how encouraging that must have been for the church in Jerusalem!

I want to challenge you today to become an encourager. With your tongue, you can either build up or tear down. . . you can bless, or you can curse. It is your choice. [read that sentence again] People are healed by encouragement. So, breathe life into another by affirming their good character, their fine work. You might encourage someone by standing up with them; look how Barnabas' action toward Saul affirmed Saul as a minister--Barnabas 'came alongside' Saul, and I'm convinced that his doing so moved Saul in the direction God was planning for him. Encouraging words could be spoken, or you might take a minute and write a note to encourage another along his way. Sometimes, just your presence is an encouragement to someone, just your being there. It was not uncommon to see Jesus encourage people by touching them. (Elderly people often crave hugs--be a supplier.) Besides touching, there are times when encouragement should move us to action--helping and giving are both action words for the word encourage. Finally, you encourage others when you commit to pray for them, and you actually do!

I love what Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica--"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (5.11) Paul's words were an encouragement to the believers--'keep it up--you're doing great!' Actually, when you look at it, all of the epistles (letters) to the churches (Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, etc.) were all letters of encouragement! So, take Barnabas as your middle name-become an encourager--look for ways to build others up. Signing off, Barnabas-----a.k.a. Christine DiGiacomo