Pastor's Ponderings: Monday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 13:4-12 (February 23, 2026)

February 23, 2026:  Monday Bible Study on Acts 13:4-12

Blessings and Peace be with you today.

Today we should all continue to pray for those who have been mistreated by the ICE troops, and the Border Patrol and others. Pray for those immigrants in our midst who are interred in terrible conditions, even when they have lived and worked in our communities for years with no criminal records. They are not the worst of the worst, but their families, including young children, have been locked away in less than humane conditions, inadequate food, dirty water, and sanitation that is far from adequate for the number of people who must use it. Pray too this morning for the people of Mexico as a large drug cartel has raged in our neighbor nation to the south after the government killed the head of their organization. Americans, and others from around the world who vacation in Mexico are told to shelter in place as the cartel members have set buses, cars, and buildings on fire in revenge for the death of their leader. Please pray for Annette as she awaits an opportunity to speak with her cardiologist over the results of her testing. Pray with thanksgiving that Lisa has been found to be cancer free after her surgery.

In our text for this morning, we find ourselves accompanying Paul and Barnabas to Cyprus. This is the first such trip that takes place after that three-year period when Paul is staying safe due to persecution by Jews and Romans alike. Why to an island? because it is the homeland of Barnabas, and apparently, he really wanted to carry the mission of Christ to his own people, but Paul didn't choose to go to the small community where Barnabas was born and raised. Instead, he took Barnabas into the most difficult community Paphos. the very center of the worship of Venus, the Goddess of "love", or perhaps we would be better off saying the center of loose morals in Cyprus. But that is not the only reputation of the island. It is also seen as the sweetest possible place to live in the Eastern Mediterranean. It had major shipbuilding industry, and a wide variety of resources. My guess is that it was a "plumb" for any Roman soldier who was stationed there. It is good for us to remember that this time in the world was a time of rampant superstition. Even the Roman leaders kept magicians and others around them so that they could feel well protected from whatever might threaten them. Sergius Paulus, an intelligent Roman leader in charge of the Cyprus kept such people around him to assure himself of his safety, or perhaps it was just a precaution against unseen, but believed in evil that surrounded all people. It was into this kind of beliefs that Barnabas and Paul bring their mission and message for Christ. Paul discovers that a particular magician, Elymas, was working to pull the pro-council away from coming to any belief in Jesus as the Savior, so Paul confronted the magician, and in the intensity of the Spirit moved to disable Elymas, so that he could no longer do his anti-Christian work on the island.  At Paul's command Elymas was struck blind. The text says that this was done to him for a season. I am not quite clear whether that means three months, or perhaps on an island with such glorious weather there was a cooler season and a warmer season of say six months each? Whatever its length this action of Paul left Elymas helpless to continue his work against the Truth of God's Word that was being presented by Paul and Barnabas. It is at this time that Saul, which was his Hebrew name, became, and continued to be known by Paul, which was the gentile and Roman name which Paul chose to use in his work for Christ in the world. In our world today, we don't often have a second translation of our names which becomes common for us to use. For instance, my name, Kim, in the East means King. Our daughter's name, Melissa, is translated as Honeybee, but we have never called her that other name, as cute as it might be. Our Joshua is generally translated as Jesus, and our James, if he lived in Scotland would likely be known as Hamish! However, in the time of Paul and Barnabas it was sometimes more that convenient to avoid problems with the truly powerful people in these early years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. We all know how important it is to share the Good News of our Savior with our family, friends, and people who we meet, so I pray that this passage today brings to us more desire, comfort, peace, and the Grace of God as we seek to share our lives of faith with others.  

With the Love of Christ, and certainty for the safety of all who accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior of their lives.

Pastor Kim