Luke the beloved physician shared concerning the apostles of Jesus, “there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them, ...”, and in chapter fourteen and verse six of the book of Acts Luke shared how the apostles, “fled unto Lystra and Derbe”, where we read:
They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia,
and unto the region that lies round about:
The verse begins, “They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, ...” Luke began with the words, “they were ware of it” which means “Paul, Barnabas and their companions who were the apostles were aware of, perceived, understood and comprehended that both Jews and Gentiles along with their leaders were going to stone them”, “and fled unto Lystra” or “and departed quickly and ran away to Lystra whose name means ransoming and was a city in the eastern part of the great plain of Lycaonia” “and Derbe” which means “tanner of skins and was a city of Lycaonia on the confines of Isauria”, “cities of Lycaonia” or “dwelling places, abodes and habitations of Lycaonia whose name means wolf land and was a region in Asia Minor, situated between Pisidia, Cilicia, Cappadocia, Galatia and Phrygia, whose chief towns were Derbe, Lystra and Iconium”. Luke shared how the apostles of Jesus heard about the people wanting to stone them, and they departed “Iconium” to flee to “Lystra and Derbe” which were located in the region of “Lycaonia”.
The verse goes on to say, “... and unto the region that lies round about:” Luke continued with the words, “and unto the region” which means “and toward the territory and country” “that lies round about” which means “which was near and adjacent to Lystra and Derbe”. Luke shared how “the apostles” also went to the areas that surrounded “Lystra and Derbe”.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Paul, Barnabas and their companions” became aware of the maleficence of some of the Jews and Gentiles in Iconium, so they left their city and went to “Lystra, Derbe and the surrounding areas”. Once again the gospel of Jesus Christ was spreading, and although opposition caused it, the message of salvation through Jesus Christ was to be presented to more people. God loves everybody, and His desire is to have a personal relationship with them through His Son Jesus. When a person yields their life to Him as their “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive their sins and grant them everlasting life. Let all who read these words understand: persecution and tribulation may be experienced as God desires to spread His “gospel”, and those who are wise will seek opportunities when they arrive in their lives.
Next time Luke shares, “there they preached the gospel”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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