Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

Opening Scripture: Acts 19:1-7

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.        

MONDAY 6.27.22   Acts 18:23, 19:1-7

The Holy Spirit – Active Agent of New Life

Do you recall that on his second missionary journey, Paul wanted to go to Ephesus, but the Holy Spirit somehow kept him from it? He tried again on his third journey, and got there. Early on, he met some disciples whom John the Baptist (or a follower of his) had baptized. They didn’t know about Jesus or the Holy Spirit. Paul showed them that John had pointed forward to Jesus, and that the Holy Spirit’s power continues Jesus’ work in giving us a new inner life. Baptized in the name of Jesus, they began to experience that power.

• John the Baptist’s ministry was powerful (cf. Matthew 3:1-12), and not everyone who heard him or whom he baptized was present when he baptized Jesus. It makes sense that there were people who accepted John’s message about repentance but didn’t know all about Jesus’ life, teaching, and resurrection. How fully do you understand your faith? What helps you to keep deepening that understanding, and experiencing the Spirit’s life-changing power?
• Scholar N. T. Wright noted, “Luke does not say that tongues always accompany such baptism.” (In fact, he wrote the opposite in a letter to Corinth—cf. 1 Corinthians 12:27-30.) Wright added, “The main thing Luke is doing in this story is to introduce Paul’s work in Ephesus, and to show that … he was concerned with the spirit’s powerful work both in the lives of individuals and out into the wider community.” When have you sensed the difference between ministry or service done with purely human effort, and that done when the Spirit’s power is present?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for calling me, not just to repent over and over, but to keep growing through the power of the Holy Spirit working in my heart and my life. Amen.

TUESDAY 6.28.22   Acts 19:8-17

Two Years of Preaching in Ephesus

Ephesus was a major travel and commerce center (three main Roman roads ran through the city). Paul preached there for two years, first in the synagogue, then in Tyrannus’ lecture hall.

Luke said that after two years, “everyone living in the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks— heard the Lord’s word.” Some traveling exorcists tried to “borrow” Jesus’ name as a gimmick. The results showed clearly that “Jesus” was not a magic word, but a real Lord to take seriously.

• Luke’s description of Paul’s ministry showed the presence of what we call “knowing God” (“convincing arguments”), “loving God” (“the Lord Jesus in the highest regard”) and “serving God” (“unusual miracles” of healing). In what ways have you been able to include all three dimensions in your faith journey? If one or two are weak, how might you allow God to strengthen them in you?

• Earlier in Acts, Luke told of a man named Simon who offered to buy the apostles’ power for his own use (cf. Acts 8:9-24). Here the exorcists just assumed that “Jesus” was a magic word—that all they had to do was repeat it, without any understanding or life commitment. Have you or someone you knew ever tried to invoke the name of Jesus to bail you out of a problem or crisis without a life commitment to his lordship?

Prayer: Living Lord, sometimes I’d like your power to work on my problems or challenges. Remind me that what I need most is your power at work inside me, rather than on the things outside me. Amen.

WEDNESDAY 6.29.22   Acts 19:18-22

Choosing the Gospel Over Sorcery

As in most major cities, many Ephesian citizens held political or economic power. Some also sought to exercise a more mystical kind of power, through the dark arts of sorcery or magic. But a greater power—the greatest power—had come to town. Luke wrote, “The Lord’s word grew abundantly and strengthened powerfully.” One sign was that people who believed Paul’s message then got rid of sorcery scrolls worth roughly 50,000 days’ wages!

• Jesus often stood what seems to us like economic “common sense” on its head (cf. Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 19:1-10). There’s no hint that the Ephesian believers thought of re-selling their sorcery texts to others, despite their great value in a world where scrolls were hand-copied rarities. Have you ever had to “burn” anything of value in order to follow God faithfully? If so, was it worth whatever the economic cost?
• Ephesus (and the whole Greco-Roman world) had limited medical expertise, even less emotional awareness, and served a pantheon of fickle gods who seemed to harm humans more than they helped. Finding Jesus’ power, many of them broke cleanly from their past. Scholar William Barclay wrote, “It is all too true that many of us hate our sins but either we cannot leave them at all or we do so with a lingering and backward look. There are times when only the clean and final break will suffice.” Is there any place in your life where you need to make a clean, final break from something hurtful and wrong?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Ephesus was a center of power, and Paul was a traveling, tent-making preacher. Let his power, your power, be the kind of power I seek, a power than can truly change the world by changing hearts. Amen.

THURSDAY 6.30.22   Acts 19:23-41

A Riot about Artemis (or about money)

When some Ephesians burned their sorcery scrolls, they set the stage for real trouble. Some Ephesian silversmiths who made profitable temple and goddess statues were furious. They rioted because Paul taught, “Gods made by human hands aren’t really gods.” Their leader Demetrius claimed their protest was about reverence for the “great goddess Artemis” (verse 27). But his real concern showed in verse 25: “you know that we make an easy living from this business.”

• The theater in Ephesus seated about 25,000 people, and it was full of angry people shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Yet Luke wrote, “Paul wanted to appear before the assembly.” In this case, disciples and government officials kept him from taking the risk, but Paul wanted to seize any chance to talk to people about Jesus. What risks of any kind are you willing to take for Jesus? Have you ever been like the disciples and government officials, helping someone else avoid a foolish risk?
• Demetrius cleverly exploited the human tendency to favor what is “ours” over anything we see as “foreign.” To his fellow craftsmen, he talked about profits, but he got the mob to defend “their” local goddess Artemis. Have you ever seen hometown pride or patriotism turn into a mindless, irrational defense of “ours” over “theirs”? How can we love our city and country without absurdly assuming that “ours” is always better, just because it’s “ours”?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep me from becoming a Demetrius, protecting his profits by appealing to the worst in people. Help me keep growing like Paul, a person passionately committed to serving and sharing you everywhere. Amen.

FRIDAY 7.1.22 Acts 20:1-12

Revisiting Macedonia and Troas

After the riot led by silversmiths, Paul left Ephesus. He spent three months in Macedonia and Greece, strengthening the churches there. He was determined to go to Jerusalem, taking an offering from the Gentile churches to help poverty-stricken Jewish Christians as a sign of the unity of all believers (cf. 2 Corinthians 8-9, probably written from Ephesus). In Troas, God’s power used Paul as its instrument to give life back to a young man who fell after dozing off during a long discussion.

• We sometimes picture Paul as a “lone wolf,” a solitary hero. In verse 6 of today’s reading, Luke listed the names of six different people who were traveling with Paul at this time. It turns out Paul was a team builder and tireless mentor. He knew he had much to share with others, and that he needed them to help make his work effective. How good are you at enlisting the gifts of others to work with you in serving God?

• Luke wrote that in Troas Paul, in “a discussion” (don’t you wish Luke had said what it was about?) talked “until midnight,” and then “right up until daybreak.” Yet when the young man Eutychus fell asleep and took a potentially disastrous fall, Paul didn’t scold him, but called on God’s power to restore him to life and health. Next time you get restless because a sermon has gone beyond 30 minutes, remember Paul at Troas!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, guide me to the people who can make my service stronger. Keep me aware of the people I can bless, encourage and guide on their journey. Let your life-giving power flow through me. Amen.

SATURDAY 7.2.22   Acts 20:13-38

Paul’s Heartfelt Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

As he set out for Jerusalem, Paul asked the Ephesian church elders to meet him in a nearby port city. He reviewed the essential principles of his time with them and urged them to keep on serving Christ as faithfully as he always tried to. It was an emotional meeting. Paul had a strong sense that his enemies were likely to be stronger in Jerusalem than in any of the other cities where he had preached. The Ephesians wept as he told them, “I know that none of you will see me again.”

• Paul wrote to the Corinthians (again, probably from Ephesus) about a crisis in Asia in which he was afraid he might not survive (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:8-10). Luke didn’t describe that crisis in Acts, but he quoted Paul as saying in this farewell speech, “I served the Lord with great humility and with tears in the midst of trials that came upon me because of the Jews’ schemes” (verse 19). Then Paul added, “I’m going to Jerusalem. I don’t know what will happen to me there. What I do know is that the Holy Spirit testifies to me from city to city that prisons and troubles await me” (verses 22, 23). Remember, people who change the world don’t quit. Where is God calling you to exercise perseverance and hope in the face of difficulty right now?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for standing by Paul, whose life and writings bless and inspire me. Give me something of his courage and faith, as I do whatever you set before me. Amen.

Your missionary journey may not look exactly like Paul’s, maybe yours happens while waiting in line, or greeting a stranger with a smile, but the end result is the same: to make every day a journey deeper into God’s grace, an opportunity to spread love to everyone you meet.

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

MONDAY 6.20.22   Acts 15:36–16:5

On the Road Again

Once the Jerusalem Council decided Gentile converts did not need to be circumcised, Paul was eager to travel and preach again. Barnabas was, too, and wanted to take John Mark (his cousin—cf. Colossians 4:10) with them. Paul disagreed strongly—John had deserted them on the first missionary journey (cf. Acts 13:13). Instead of using up their energy fighting with one another, they multiplied their outreach. Barnabas took John Mark to Cyprus; Paul took Silas to Derbe and Lystra, and there recruited Timothy, who became a trusted protégé.

• What a blow it would have been to the early church if Paul and Barnabas had stayed in Antioch feuding, trying to get church members on their side of the disagreement. What inner qualities did it take for them to “make lemonade out of a lemon,” turning their one evangelistic team into two? Paul later seems to have reconciled with John Mark (cf. 2 Timothy 4:11). What helps you leave past differences behind, and focus on building God’s kingdom even with those you may have disagreed with?
• Barnabas helped Paul (cf. Acts 9:26-28). Barnabas believed John Mark deserved a second chance. Paul took Silas, and then Timothy, under his wing to instruct and model for them. Who has inspired, encouraged and helped you? Do they know how much you appreciate that? Who can you encourage and help by sharing what you’ve learned?

 Prayer: Lord Jesus, I may not travel as many miles in my life as Paul did. But help me, as you did Paul, to make every day a journey deeper into your grace, an opportunity to spread your love to everyone I meet. Amen.

TUESDAY 6.21.22   Acts 16:6–15

Taking the Gospel into Greece

In some way (Luke didn’t say how), the Holy Spirit seemed to put limits on Paul’s work in 

Asia Minor. Finally, in the port city of Troas, Paul had a vivid vision of a man from Macedonia asking him to come there and help them. So Paul and his companions left promptly for Macedonia, taking the gospel for the first time into a part of Europe.

• Paul usually began preaching in the synagogue—but Philippi, though sizeable, had no synagogue. So Paul found a place of prayer by the river, and spoke with the women who met there. Lydia, “a dealer in purple cloth” (i.e. high end fabric in royal colors), was one of his first converts. Paul baptized her and her household, and she offered her hospitality while they were in Philippi. How good are you at moving into unknown territory (physical or mental) if that’s what it takes to carry out God’s mission for you?
• A fascinating detail occurred in this reading. In verses 7-8, the writer spoke of Paul and his companions as “they.” But after the dream, verse 10 said, “We prepared to leave for the province of Macedonia.” With no elaborate fanfare, Luke told his readers that he joined Paul’s group in Troas. How did the use of “we” highlight the trust Theophilus (cf. Acts 1:12) (and we) can have in the eyewitness quality of Acts? How did the writer’s refusal to use “we” except when it was accurate stress the writing’s integrity?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you may not call me to cross an ocean to Macedonia. But nearly every day you bring me into contact with someone like Lydia who doesn’t know you. Keep me as ready to share you in new “territory” as Paul was. Amen.

WEDNESDAY 6.22.22   Acts 16:16–34

A Jailer Finds Spiritual Freedom

After Paul and Silas had been in Philippi for several days, they were put in prison (ironically, for setting an exploited woman free). Around midnight, in stocks in prison, they were praying and singing hymns. Luke reported that an earthquake shook the prison (again with no further explanation). Paul and Silas calmed their jailer’s fears (if a Roman jailer let prisoners escape, he usually suffered the prisoners’ penalty), and led him and his family to new life in Christ.

• Okay, let’s think about this—“Around midnight, in stocks in prison, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns.” To what extent can you deal with even a long line at the store or the DMV office by praying and singing hymns (inwardly if not outwardly)? In what ways does Paul and Silas’ example provide a benchmark to help you assess how much room you have to keep growing toward spiritual maturity?
• After the earthquake, Paul’s jailer prepared to kill himself rather than face the sentence of any prisoners he let escape. Scholar N. T. Wright said his question in verse 30 meant, “Will you please tell me how I can get out of this mess?” Paul and Silas’ reply—“Believe in the Lord Jesus”—reached beyond his immediate concern, and spoke to the whole broken, lost mess we humans face. It’s a basic question each of us has to answer: do you believe in (not just “about”) Jesus?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, from Lydia, a wealthy merchant, to a desperate, nameless jailer, you were (and are) the final answer to the whole spectrum of human need. I trust you to be the ultimate answer to all of my needs, too. Amen.

THURSDAY 6.23.22   Acts 17:16–34

Paul’s Sermon in Athens

Paul and his team moved on to the cities of Thessalonica and Berea. It was there that the pattern of early success, then jealousy triggering hostility, caused the team to split up for a time. Some believers escorted Paul to Athens, the Greek capital (see map). As he waited for Timothy and Silas to rejoin him, he preached to the novelty-loving Athenian philosophers. Even there, he won some converts.

• Some people would expect the apostle Paul (and all Christians after him) to denounce the Athenians as pagan libertines and idolaters, going straight to hell. Compare the respectful, inclusive tone of Paul’s actual sermon with that stereotype. (In verse 28, he even quoted a Cretan philosopher named Epimenides and the Stoic poet Aratus.) What can you learn from Paul about how to share your convictions with others?
• Luke, maybe with a wry smile, wrote that the Athenians and their foreign guests “used to spend their time doing nothing but talking about or listening to the newest thing.” To them, Paul’s message seemed very novel. Is it possible that, in an increasingly un-Christian world, the “novelty” of the good news might initially intrigue some people more than its antiquity?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, when Paul preached in Athens, he was able to quote Greek poets and Cretan philosophers. Help me to know the culture around me well enough to use it to communicate, without selling out my faith to that culture. Amen.

FRIDAY 6.24.22   Acts 18:1-18

An 18-Month Stay in Corinth

From Athens, Paul went on to Corinth (see map), a large seaport known for all the vices typical among idle sailors throughout history. Yet God told the apostle that he had “many people” there. Paul met Aquila and Priscilla, fellow tentmakers, who became dear friends and co-workers (in Romans 16:3-4, Paul would write that they had “risked their own necks” for his life). He ended up staying in Corinth for 18 months.

• After Paul preached in Corinth for a while, some synagogue members (by now predictably) “opposed and slandered him.” He “left the synagogue,” but remarkably, “Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household came to believe in the Lord.” Jesus told Paul in a dream, “Don’t be afraid … I’m with you.” How does it change your outlook in difficult, scary situations to have a sense that you’re not all alone, that Jesus is with you? Where do you need God’s comfort and courage right now?
• When Paul met Priscilla and Aquila, they were all far from home. He’d come from  Athens, and faced hostility in Corinth. Priscilla and Aquila were recent exiles from  Rome at Emperor Claudius’ orders. Most often God works through people. How did  God use the close friendship that developed to strengthen all three people to serve  Jesus more effectively?

Prayer: Loving Lord, guide me as I keep building my ability to trust that you are always with me. And make me the kind of friend who can help and support someone else in serving you more faithfully. Amen.

SATURDAY 6.25.22   1 Corinthians 6:18-20, 12:31-13:13

“The Greatest of These is Love”

Even though Paul spent eighteen months in Corinth, the Christians there had many struggles to grow beyond the self-serving, immoral culture that surrounded them. In a later letter to these Christians, Paul warned against the sexual immorality of their city. And, aware that they were dividing into factions striving for superiority, he penned his profound picture of what unselfish, enduring, God-sourced love looks like.

• Many first-world Christians, like many first-century Greeks, prefer a “head” oriented faith, which coolly analyzes religious ideas and avoids emotional expressions. Yet in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul called love “an even better way” [than relating solely through our strongest abilities]. Without love, he said, being able to “know all the mysteries and everything else” lacks eternal value. What makes God-given love “the greatest of these”— greater even than hope and faith? What does it mean for you to love God “with ALL your heart, with ALL your being, with ALL your strength, and with ALL your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27)?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want to love as you love, but every day I fall short of that ideal. But every day your love surrounds me, and I trust it to help me keep growing toward the kind of love you call me to live. Amen.