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Barnabas, an Encourager

DATE - June 14th, 2022

TOPIC - Barnabas, an Encourager

BIBLE TEXT - When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. . . . Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus. Barnabas also told them what the Lord had said to Saul and how he boldly preached in the name of Jesus in Damascus. - Acts 9:26-27






Barnabas had the God-given ability to see and understand what the Lord was doing around him. Just as Joshua and Caleb saw the potential in the land God had promised to give to his people, Barnabas saw with spiritual eyes something of God’s potential in Saul, a former enemy who had zealously persecuted believers before he met Christ on the road to Damascus. When the other believers feared Saul, rejected his ministry, and pointed their fingers at him, Barnabas spoke up in Saul’s defense and declared what God had deposited in him. 

He continued to be a peacemaker and a bridge between Saul and the apostles, and eventually the believers embraced Saul and welcomed him into their fellowship. Thus, God’s kingdom would be extended throughout Judea and the world. Are you like Barnabas—an encourager? If you’re willing, you could be just the person God uses to help someone in trouble. You could be the bridge of divine grace in another’s spiritual journey.








PRAYER
LORD, I want to be an encourager like Barnabas. Help me to see others with your eyes. Give me the vision to see the potential you’ve deposited in them. Fill me with courage to stand with those who are in trouble and need my help or defense. Make me a bridge of encouragement from your heart to the hearts of others.

INSIGHT
Every time we encourage someone we give them a transfusion of courage.

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