6 Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.
9 Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. 10 Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11 Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.
12 When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
In today's society, what are some of the things that try to keep us from believing?
8 comments:
A better question might be what doesn't try to keep us from believing? We live in crazy times if you ask me. It’s almost like a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. You read some crazy numbers on how many Christians struggle with sin and so on. However, I do see more people seeming to reach out. I pray that we notice and reach out.
cas
For years and years I thought that the Sodom/Gommorah comments were overblown, but I realize that its much more like that than we choose to admit. We as Christians are removed from lots of what's really on, and especially I, who lives in a bubble (or lab, to be more honest) is even further removed. I think peer pressure, media, news outlets, people who want to continue to live without self control or restraint, money, etc. Everything is a struggle to not believe, and there are both intensely active and intensely passive methods to keeping us from not beliveing. I've been snagged by more of the latter lately, things which slowly remove me from the Word, from the Way and from praying and posting.
Sometimes it seems like everything trys to keep me from believing. The devil is a smart guy and knows our weaknesses.
LT
Indeed the devil is the lord of the world and we, alone, are no match for him. But thanks to God's Word and the Holy Spirit, we can overcome obstacles and attacks. Speaking of Sodom and Gomorrah, I'm in Las Vegas this week. Pray for me to practice what I just wrote.
tba
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