Search for the Lord and for his strength;
….continually seek him. Psalm 105:4 NLT
Acts 19:8-10 (<<click here to read the passage)
Most of us realize it, but when it comes to learning and growing in our relationship with Jesus, it’s easy to compartmentalize our lives. Many set aside a Sabbath time of worship. That is a wonderful thing for sure but that solitary compartment is far too limiting when it comes to interacting with God. Our God is a God of miracles but for most of us, it is just an hour or a little more that we set aside to spend time with Him. It can impact us, yes, but more time would definitely translate to more opportunities for impact.
Part of the struggle for some is that in compartmentalizing that part of their lives, they develop the mentality that that is the only place they can learn. Their lives are too full to even work in a daily devotional time. There are many daily devotionals out there. My two churches both get different ones, one of them I know we just send in a donation to receive – the other I’m not sure on – but picking them up at either church costs our people nothing. Those two are Our Daily Bread and The Upper Room. Both publications had an app available for personal use…so there’s no excuse.
In today’s passage, we learn that for about three months Paul taught in the local Jewish place of worship, the synagogue. But some of the Jews became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. v9
Tyrannus, I learned from my study notes, was a school. Lecture halls were used in the morning for teaching philosophy, but they were empty during the hot part of the day (about 11 AM to 4 PM). Because many people did not work during those hours, they would come to hear Paul’s preaching.*
They – nor we! – need a church or any formal kind of place set aside to learn and grow in our relationship with Jesus. We can learn literally anywhere!
And did you catch what the last part of that note said? Those who wanted to learn made it a priority in their lives. They went to hear Paul preach when they could have been doing so many other things. And it wasn’t the most comfortable time to get together, either. We all have things that need to be done but some things are more important than others. Now I don’t expect that they went to hear Paul every day, but it was important enough for them to dedicate time regularly.
We all – I included – need to make sure that we are setting time apart from all the many other things clamoring for our attention. It will be of great spiritual benefit to do so. Lord, help us.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
June 28th, 2022, Tues, 7:51 pm
