Learning from Barnabas

A very good morning to you - I greet you in Jesus’s precious name!

It is Sunday morning, 17th July 2022, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.
If we start in the Book of Acts:

“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.”

Acts 9:27

We don’t often hear much about Barnabas, the introducer. Remember, Andrew too was an introducer - He introduced his brother, Simon Peter, to the Lord Jesus Christ. How we so desperately need men and women in these troubled times with a Barnabas character... People who believe in others. You see, Barnabas was not a trouble-maker, he was a peacemaker.

“Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.”

Matthew 5:9

Barnabas took Paul under his wing and stood up for him, and then Paul was accepted by the rest of the Apostles. Barnabas came to Paul’s defence and he gave testimony of how Paul preached so boldly about Jesus in Damascus. Barnabas believed in Paul. If it was not for Barnabas, Paul would have found it very difficult to get started and remember Paul became the greatest of all the apostles... I feel. It is all very well standing up for someone when they are a success because there is no risk involved but to stand up and to trust and believe in a young man who has never really done anything, in fact, caused a lot of trouble and pain, is quite another thing.

When we started farming we were very, very young. We had some very tough seasons - a lot of droughts, and disease in the crops and financially we were on the brink of going down. I heard a story the other day that a bank manager who walked with us (Just like Barnabas walked with Paul - he believed in us) was in a meeting in Durban and was told by the other bankers, “I think we ought to go up to Greytown and close down that preacher man.” But that bank manager, I hope he is listening to this message, he believed in us and he kept supporting us and we came through.

Today, many young folks need a break in life. Let's give them an opportunity to show us what Jesus can do through them. God bless you and have a wonderful Sunday!
Goodbye.