ANCHOR DEVOTIONS (OCTOBER 09, 2011)

Observable Grace
Acts 11:22-26



"When he [Barnabas] arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts."
(Acts 11:23)
Barnabas observed the grace of God in Antioch. What did he see? The Bible doesn't give us the answer directly. However, there are observable results of the grace of God identified elsewhere. Consider from 2 Corinthians 8, 9: joy, thanksgiving, generosity, love. These are all observable evidences of the grace of God. They grew out of the grace the Corinthian Christians experienced after becoming believers in the gospel, causing the believing Corinthians to stand out from their non-believing brothers.
If I am fretting about "witnessing well" to friends or co-workers, it is at least as important that they observe grace in my life as it is that they hear the gospel from my lips. The message is more easily heard from a grace-filled life. Both communicate God's love and grace.
Do you feel you are lacking in the traits of grace? Listen to preaching and teaching of the grace of God. You can never get too much of that. And learn from Christians around you whose lives have grace spilling out onto others.
INSIGHT
Let your heart be glad in the grace God extends to you each and every day.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Isaiah 49-50
Psalm 95
Acts 18

Acts 11:22-26
22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.