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Page 4... The Portland Observer ...September 18,1991
¡Portland Observer
RELIGION
God Works Through His Word And Through Miracles
BY MICHAEL LINDSEY
D ean o f North P ortland Bible College
1 he te xt fo r the Sunday School
lesson (In te rn a tio n a l Series) fo r next
Sunday is A cts 14:8-18. Please read
th is te xt and the others I refer to, as you
read these com m ents.
T h is w o n d e rfu l in c id e n t o f heal
in g happened later in Paul and Barna
bas’ m issionary jo u rn e y to the heart o f
-he was “ stedfastly beholding h im , and
perceiving that he had faith to be healed’ ’
(14:9).
The L o rd was w o rk in g on the heart
o f the man firs t! A man so crip p le d as
this L y s lra n man w o u ld usually be
consigned to a life o f begging, hunger
an disease, and an early grave. B u t as he
heard the w o rd o f the L o rd from P aul’ s
lips, G o d used it to awaken fa ith and
people recognized and honored the
gods, and the rest o f the c ity were
destroyed. Perhaps th is explains the
reaction o f the L y s tra people.
Beacuse o f the language b a rrie r, it
to o k Paul and Barnabas a w h ile to re
alize that the people were preparing to
w o rsh ip them in h igh style. O f course,
they refused any part o f this, and Paul
appealed to them elo q u e n tly, to re co g
nize the C reator and his goodness, in
stead o f w o rsh ip p in g people o r other
A s ia M in o r (m odern T u rk e y ). I f you
have maps in the back o f y o u r B ib le , o r
better yet, a B ib le atlas, you w ill get a
better grasp o f the jo u rn e y by fo llo w
in g the “ F irst M issio n a ry Journey” on
the m ap as you read A cts 13-14. R e
m em ber that Paul and Barnabas, lik e
m ost travelers o f th e ir um e, w o u ld be
w a lk in g these m any m iles from tow n
to to w n . For exam ple, fro m Ico n iu m to
L y s tra w o u ld be about 18 m iles, w h ile
hope fro m w ith in . Paul saw th is change
w ith s p irit-le d insight, and he d id not
despise the unattractive fo rm o f the
man. Instead, Paul took the ris k o f
Derbc was about 55 m iles further.
m ust be concerned fo r the diseased and
hand recently in Ico n iu m (14:3). A n d
L ystra was a mere v illa g e c o m
pared to A n tio c h and Ic o m iu m , and
c rip p le d and h u rtin g people around us
(and among us as w e ll!). B ut the fin a l
answer, the real diffe re n ce , comes from
the message o f salvation through fa ith
these m iracles do c o n frim the message
o f C hirst. B u t often people w ill fin d
any o ther explanation o f a m ira cle
more acceptable than the truth. In
Ico n iu m , despite m iraculous signs and
w onders, m any banded together to
oppose the apostles and persecute them
(1 4 :4 -5 ). In L y stra , despite the evident
there also seems to have been no Jew
ish synagogue there. L ystra was o f f i
c ia lly a Roman c o lo n y , and I ’ m sure
the people a ll knew G reek, but they
s till held on to th e ir ancient language,
L yca o n ia n (14:11). T h e ir re lig io n had
adapted to the G reek/R om an pantheon
[L u ke refers to “ Z eus” and “ H e r
m es,” fo r w h ic h the K in g James trans
lators used Rom an equivalents “ J u p i
te r” and “ M e rc u ry ” (1 4 :1 2 -1 3 .], but
it was s till the same L ycaonian w o r
ship they had practiced before the
Roman E m pire arrived.
So w hen Paul and Barnabas came
to L ystra , they began preaching the
gospel (14:7) w herever they co u ld fin d
com m anding h im to stand up and w a lk
(as Jesus and Peter had done before:
Luke 5:17-26; A cts 3:1-10) and G od
im m e d ia te ly restored his feet, and gave
strength to his atrophied leg muscles, so
the man co u ld leap to his feet and w alk.
So it is today. The people o f G od
in Jesus C hrist. W hen G od awakens
fa ith in people, he also produces hope
so people can liv e p ro d u ctive , healthy
lives. In some cases, the L o rd chooses
to heal the sick q u ic k ly , in c lu d in g those
whose lives have been ravaged by sin.
m iraculous signs and wonders to co n
firm the truth o f the gospel at every
turn. The m iracles m ay be there, as in
the firs t days o f the church in Jerusa
lem , and even by Paul and Barnabas’
healing m iracle, the people were eas
ily turned against Paul, so that they
In o ther cases, the physical healing is
stoned h im , le a vin g him fo r dead o u t
not as fo rth co m in g , but G od gives the
grace to a llo w his c h ild to liv e w ith his
side the c ity (14:19).
The M ira cu lo u s signs o n ly co n
in firm ity (2 C o r 11:7-10).
As the account o f L ystra proceeds,
we see that the healed man made a far
greater im pression o f the local people
than the message o f the gospel had. B ut
th e ir response m ig h t surprise a lo t o f
firm the message w hen they are p e r
ceived through eyes o f fa ith . “ A n d
fa ith com eth by hearing, and hearing
by the w o rd o f G o d ” (R om 10:17). I
think we can pray fo r miraculous w orks
in to d a y’ s church, consciously fo llo w
ing the exam ple o f the Jeusalem church
(A cts 4 :29-20). B u t it is fa r m ore im
p ro b a b ly ju s t a h a n d fu l, but one man
am ong them was a special case. N o t
because he was crip p le d , though the
m odem C hristians. Instead o f g lo rify
ing the G od w h o had done this great
th in g , they ju m p e d to the conclusion
that the preacher themselves m ust be
author makes sure we see ho w crip p le d
(do you see the th re e -fo ld description
o f his d is a b ility in verse 8?). Paul n o
ticed m ore than the outside o f the man-
gods. W e know fro m a Rom an poet,
O v id , that the Lycaonians had a legend
o f tw o gods com ing among them in
human fo rm . In the legend, o n ly tw o
an audience. The audience at firs t was
created things (14:15-17).
The response o f the Lystrans
demonstrates an im p o rta n t truth about
C h ristia n w itnessing. W e cannot seek
portant that we pray fo r boldness to
preach (or, as we m ig h t say today,
“ share o u r fa ith ” ) and fo r prepared
Matrons Celebrate 36th
Anniversary
by Mattie Ann Callier-Spears
The H arley A kers M atrons C lu b o f
Bethel A M E Church w ill celebrate their
36th anniversary
Sunday September 22, 1991 4pm
Bethel A M E C hurch
5828 N E 8th A ve.
P ortland, Oregon
The special service w ill include —
an “ A ffirm a tio n S ervice,” guest solo
ist: E arl W inchester & L e slie W illia m s
and a scru m p d illy u m p tio u s reception
to be held in the m u lti-p u rp o se room at
the church. The m atrons’ colors arc
y e llo w , b la ck and w hite.
THEM E:
“ O u r Legacy - Past, Present &
F u tu re ”
The p u b lic is c o rd ia lly in v ite d to
attend this m em orable occasion.
L illie S im m ons, President; Lenora
M o rris , Program
C o o rd in a to r; Rev.
M ilto n Green, Pastor
Volunteers
The P ortland W om en ’ s C risis L in e
announces openings in its N ovem ber
tra in in g fo r C risis L in e volunteers.
T ra in in g s are 46 hours lo n g , scheduled
o ver a three w eek period. C ris is L in e
volunteers are trained to answ er the
crisis lin e , P rovide crisis in te rve n tio n
counseling, and to p ro vid e advocacies
fo r w om en and ch ild re n (and th e ir
fa m ilie s and frie n d s) that have o r are
experiencing dom estic o r sexual v io
lence.
P W C L is a n o n -p ro fit, tax-exem pt
o rg a n iza tio n w h ic h operates a 24 hour
a day crisis in te rve n tio n h o tlin e , p ro
vides advocacies and support groups
fo r v ic tim s /s u rv iv o rs o f dom estic and
sexual violence. A d d itio n a lly , we p ro
Luke 22:64
Voices Of Kuumba
by M a ttie Ann C a llie r - S p e a r s
September twenty-second w ill mark
the th ird p u b lica tio n o f V O IC E S O F
K U U M B A , a collection o f literary works
by the N o rth w e st A fric a n A m erican
W rite rs W o rksh o p . T h is event w ill
cu lm in a te w ith a gala reception and
book signing w h ic h w ill be held at the
Y W C A located on N E M a rtin L u th e r
K in g , Jr. B o u le va rd between the hours
o f 2 and 5 pm.
There w ill be a program featuring
readings and entertainm ent by the
members o f the N W A fric a n A m erican
W rite rs W orkshop.
The mem bers, o f the N W A A W W ,
have p erform ed throughout the year at
L it-E ru p tio n , the m ain L ib ra ry d o w n
to w n , P o w e ll B ookstore, C onant &
C onant B ookstore, w ith the Oregon
C o lo n y o f W rite rs and more. The w r it
ers have also hosted the firs t, o f m any,
tact - Joseph F ra n klin , (503) 620-8843.
Leave yo u r name, telephone num ber,
your address and w hether o r n o t you are
an a d u lt o r a student. I f you are a m in o r
aged student, please have y o u r parent
ca ll and leave a ll p e rtin e n t in fo rm a
tion.
The p u b lic is encouraged to attend
this a ffa ir and be w itness to the c re a tiv
ity o f this group.
A n th o lo g ie s w ill be on sale d u rin g
this a ffa ir: K U U M B A I. I I & I I I . So -
i f you missed the firs t tw o a n th lo lg y
p u b lica tio n s, com e prepared to p u r
chase, to m in g le to enjoy and b rin g a
frie n d .
A rc you proud o f y o u r heritage?
C om e share an afternoon o f cre a tiv ity .
D o n ’ t forget; September 2 2 ,1 9 9 1
B la ck H isto ria n s Conference. A ll per
sons, o f a ll ages, w h o have a desire to
2 pm to 5 pm
N ortheast Y W C A
C O M IN G UP: B la ck P oetry D ay
become a published w rite r should con-
O ctober 17, 1991
Homestyle Cooking
e Family Dining ▼ Catering ▼ Specialty
* Down Home Cooking At Its Very Best!
. Catfish . Red Snapper. BBQ Ribs * Steaks
.Turnip Greens .Cornbread .Chitterlings
.Yams .Blackeyed Peas .Sweet Potato Pies
. Peach Cobbler
.6AM Breakfast
. Hot Food Express Line 11am - 2pm
. Master Charge . Visa . American Express
vide transportation from danger to safety
hearts to receive ou t testim onies. O n ly
fo r w om en and ch ild re n .
then can we c o n fid e n tly expect to see
changed liv e s and com m unites.
at the C ris is L in e can ca ll 232-9545 fo r
W om en interested in vo lu n te e rin g
a p p lica tio n
Portland Observer encourages our readers to write
letters to the editor in response to any articles
we publish.
Scripture o f the ‘Weefi
and fu th e r in fo rm a tio n .
D eadline fo r ap p lica tio n s is O ctober
28.
C o lle g e students are urged to ap
p ly . P racticum c re d it is available.
P W C L is an equal o p p o rtu n ity
em p lo ye r, funded in part by the U nited
W ay.
Steen’s Kitchen
7332 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
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