NOVEMBER 6
“The islanders showed unusual kindness” - Acts 28:2
The wreck of a ship lay abandoned on the rocks just off the Maltese coast, and standing helplessly on the shore were 276 exhausted, bedraggled men – soldiers, prisoners and crew. With nothing left to their names except the clothes on their backs, they were drenched and frozen from the cold sea. All goods and supplies were left behind on the boat as they swam for lives as the boat, pounded onto the rocks, broke it's back and sank. They had no money to barter for food, clothing or shelter. They must have viewed the local islanders with fear and trepidation, wondering what would happen, how would they be treated?
The answer to that lies in our text above....the islanders welcomed them with “unusual kindness”....they saw the need of the moment and responded to it. They could have reacted very differently, making assumptions and interrogating the prisoners, but instead their immediate response was to offer hospitality – not just on arrival, but also when they left the island. The local people made certain that the entire 276 people left with all they needed to continue their journey.
It's no surprise that history tells us that, as a result of Paul's witness, the entire island of Malta was converted to Christianity.
This has set me thinking about the standard of my own hospitality to strangers. Am I selective and base it on first impressions, inviting, and offering help only to those who fit the mould? Or, do I react as Christ does to me, and you, and see the underlying need of each person....the desire for love, friendship – the desire to belong?
I pray that you and I will be on the look-out for ways in which we can show God's grace to others in need – and do it without agenda or motive, but simply because God is kind to us, and we want to be like Him.
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Housekeeping details for you
The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.
A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here
