TUESDAY, JANUARY 16
Scripture: Acts 13:6-11

In Acts 13:6-11 we have the Apostle Paul and his coworker Barnabus who were just sent out from Antioch and were preaching in Cyprus and Salamis and they went to the island of Paphos. There they met a false prophet and that false prophet had completely tied up the proconsul, the government leader. The false prophet’s name was Elymas. Elymas (anth-his-tay-mee) withstood Paul and Barnabus. How does Paul respond? Does he turn the other cheek? Does he walk away? Acts 13:9-10 says, “Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said,’ O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time. And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.” When someone stood against Paul this tells us what Paul did. He did not turn the other cheek nor did he look the other way, but instead he moved the Hand of the Lord in judgment on that individual. What have we in the American church been doing in our dealings with evil people? We have turned the other cheek and walked the other way and as a result have lost battle after battle after battle to the point that we are putting our nation in jeopardy of declining into destruction. Until the fear of the Lord returns and the warriors of God arise, this nation is in peril. There is a new sheriff in town and a new opportunity to turn toward righteousness. What will the church do with our opportunity? Will the church rise to the occasion? Is it not time to bring the judgment of God to the table? Paul did and this was his first missionary trip. He is brand new to the missionary front. He doesn’t act like it. He acts like he knows God. Church, do we know God? Do we know the God of Acts 13? Do we know the Jesus that Paul knew? No wonder the demons said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” That the account in Acts 19 of the seven sons of Skiva attempting to deal with demons. Now there is quite a yardstick. “Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you.” God knows who we are and in this point in our Christian walk we should know well the same Jesus that Paul knew. Now isn’t it time to act like it and stand up in it. The future harvest belongs to the church, those who know their God and have paid the price to walk with Him in righteousness and whose prayers He hears and whose Hand these saints move.