S. O. A. P.

Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional!

S-cripture:

Acts 15:39
They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus.

O-bservation:

This is the very intriguing story of how Paul and Barnabas, the first Christian missionary team in history, separated over a full-on disagreement. In their first missionary journey, Barnabas’ young relative, John Mark, got discouraged and headed back home to be with mom. This left the team short-handed. Later, when Paul and Barnabas were preparing for a second missionary outreach, Barnabas wanted to take his young family member John Mark with them again, but Paul pushed back on the idea. The disagreement escalated so that Barnabas took John Mark and left for Cyprus. Paul, on the other hand, chose Silas, and they headed out as well. But it’s not bad, really. This is a short story on how God often grows his church through “Multiplication By Way Of Division.

A-pplication:

If you follow the two stories, most of us know that Paul and Silas were hugely successful in Paul’s second missionary outreach. Barnabas, too, was very successful. He took the young man John Mark to Cyprus and trained and mentored him by pioneering the work of God in Cyprus. It appears that John Mark was either sent by Barnabas to assist Peter or Peter connected with John Mark somehow so that John Mark became Peter’s understudy. It was John Mark who wrote the book of St Mark in the New Testament. Yet, many believe that he was Peter’s scribe and Peter was the true author. Either way, because of this man, John Mark, division came to the first Christian missionary team of all the ages. What happened? The church grew in Cyprus and throughout Asia Minor and finally through the writing of the second book of the New Testament. The man who was the subject of the breakup became a major success, and the church grew. It is true that God oftentimes uses “Multiplication By Way Of Division,” to grow his church.

P-rayer:

Dear Jesus,

Help me to love your ways and not my feelings. You use all kinds of unconventional ways to build your church. I know your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. With that said, I’m most interested in growing your church. Amen

The post Multiplication By Way Of Division appeared first on RICH WILKERSON.