And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

Acts 18:5-8

In the current news, the death of a man has inflamed America. My husband has received emails from our friends overseas concerned for our safety as the media has focused on the unrest in the great and usually peaceful USA. We pray for peaceful protests and we pray for our country and leaders to be led by God for justice for all. In the meantime, America is learning how to deal with masses of unruly behavior and rioting.

When Silas and Timothy arrived from their travel from Berea in Macedonia, more than 150 miles, Paul was unusually burdened about the spiritual state of Corinthian Jews. When he declared that Jesus was Messiah, the majority of the Jews became violent. Paul was very familiar with riots because his preaching was usually the cause of it. Imagine Paul’s emotional state when he announced that they now would bear the result of their unbelief and turned his attention to the Gentiles. However, his preaching to the Jews was not in vain.

Of the few Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah, one was Justus (or Titius Justus in some texts) and one was Crispus. Justus happened to own a house that was close or probably attached, to the synagogue. This location made it convenient for the believing Jews to be able to attend Paul’s sermons while allowing the Gentiles to be able to hear of Jesus Christ since they were not allowed in the synagogue. Crispus, on the other hand, was the ruler of the synagogue. His conversion undoubtedly caused quite a ruckus in the Jewish community and he surely was dismissed from his position. He and all of his household came to accept Jesus as Messiah! The Jewish leaders were not happy as they knew that Crispus’ conversion would be influential to other Jews.

Can good come out of bad circumstances? Of course, it can! God can use any situation for His glory as He works in the hearts of all men whether or not they are surrendered to His will. Yes, we must do our part as He leads, but God wants us to trust Him and not live in fear. Are you trusting Him?

Written by Kaye Dee Richards. Kaye Dee lives with her husband Colin in Morrison, CO. They have 4 children, Joshua, Amelia, Victoria, and Julia.
To contact Kaye Dee, leave a comment, message us on Facebook or email comments@thebeautifulspirit.org.