June 29, 2022
The Almost Daily will be on Summer Vacation until August 8th. But fear not! You will receive a devotional each Monday through Friday from the excellent Mockingbird Devotional entitled Daily Grace. Enjoy! - Paul Walker
One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. (Acts 18:9-11)
Modern-day Corinth is a land of windswept ruin. Standing in the places where Paul preached, you can see to one side, across the water, the snow-capped mountain of Delphi—infamous seat of the oracle of Apollo—and to the other side, the massive acropolis and crumbling temple to Aphrodite. The pagan god of light and truth to the one side, the pagan goddess of love to the other. Paul’s missionary journey took place between these great mountaintops—these giants of earthly power—in a port city that was rife with corruption and need. Corinth must have seemed an intractable place.
Paul had come to Corinth to preach the word of God, but in the above verse, the Lord speaks of a completed work—“there are many in this city who are my people.” The Lord has, in fact, already done what He has sent Paul to do: move the hearts of the people. What great and glorious news for Paul! It is no longer up to Paul, in his human efforts, to convert the citizens of Corinth. Paul is to keep on speaking—“do not be silent”—in the sure and certain knowledge that the Lord’s power and grace has already come before him, entering the hearts of the Corinthians to await the Lord’s messenger. Paul’s only work is to keep on speaking the story of Christ to the world in need. The Lord has done the rest.
The Lord is a greater prophet, a greater light-bringer, and a greater lover than any pagan god, no matter how grand their temples. This is the Lord’s promise to all Christians: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you.” And not only is He with us, He has already established “many in this city who are my people.” He has claimed others around us as His own, marking each of us as His children by the blood of His son. The Lord does not need temples on mountaintops, for He builds his temples in the hearts of His believers. What wondrous love is this, indeed.
[Derrill H. McDavid, Daily Grace - Mockingbird Devotional Vol. 2]
