May 12, 2026 | Be Connected
The Gospel for Jews and Gentiles Alike
Scripture: Acts 19:8-10(NIV)
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
Devotional
Before dinner tonight, our son came to us overwhelmed and tearful, struggling with his math homework. As a father, my first instinct was to hug him and say, “Don’t worry about it. We don’t have to do this right now.” Like many parents, I wanted to take away the pressure and protect him from feeling upset. But Emily, his mother, had another take on the situation; she encouraged him to try a new approach, believing that working through the challenge would teach him something more profound than just getting the correct answer. She wanted him to learn resilience.
That experience reminds me of a pattern we see in Scripture. God does not leave us alone in hard times, and He does not give us more than we can handle. Instead, He uses challenges to help us grow, building our endurance, wisdom, and faith as we persevere.
We see this clearly in Paul’s ministry. For three months, he spoke boldly and shared the Gospel without holding back. He did not avoid tough conversations or change his message to please others. Paul trusted God instead of worrying about what people thought. When resistance grew and the synagogue closed its doors, he did not give up. He improvised by moving his teaching to a school hall, which was used in the morning for philosophy teaching, and continued sharing the gospel there after hours.
What looked like rejection led to growth. The gospel spread throughout the whole province of Asia. One closed door did not stop God’s work; it simply changed its direction. God was not limited by place, opposition, or situation, and He still isn’t.
Call to Action
Let’s learn from Paul and trust God even when things are hard, especially when we are doing God’s work and sharing the gospel. When you face resistance, try not to pull back or lose faith.
