Be a Barnabas

"Then Barnabas w

ent to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was is in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians" (Acts 11: 25-26)

"Barnabas did more than simply welcome the newcomer. He also nutured the giftedness and leadership potential in Saul"

C.K. Robertson; Transforming Stewardship

The Story of Barnabas

Barnabas first appears to us in Acts 4:36 as a Levite named Joseph from Cyprus. He apparently had some wealth, for he sold a field and gave the money to the apostles for their distribution. Apparently, he got to know the apostles fairly well in time, for his next appearance is boldly introducing a former persecutor named Saul of Tarsus to the apostles as a brother in the Lord (Acts 9:27).

Later, Barnabas was sent to Antioch to lead and encourage its young church (Acts 11:22-24). It is at this time that he recruited Paul from Tarsus for the work in Antioch (Acts 11:25). From the church in Antioch, Barnabas and Paul visited the church in Jerusalem with a gift for those suffering from a famine in Judea (Acts 11:30), and returned to Antioch with John Mark (Acts 12:25). Read More......

Be a Barnabas

We are told often to "be a Barnabas." In Acts 4:36 we learned that Barnabas means, Son of Encouragement. Clearly then, it is a good thing to want to be be a Barnabas by being an encouragment to others. The problem is that being a Barnabas gets lost in translation. How am I supposed to be a Barnabas? What does it look like? Where do I start? What is my aim? In Acts 11 we are given an explanation of what it means to be a Barnabas.

"When [Barnabas] came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith" (Acts 11:23&24).

Praying Through the Bible, July 24, 2007

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