Steadfast devotion

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All Shall Be Well (with Liz Vice and Dee Wilson)

Good Shepherd Collective

Today is Thursday the 11th of June, the feast of Saint Barnabas, in the 10th week of Ordinary Time.

Liz Vice and Dee Wilson with Good Shepherd Collective sings ‘All Shall Be Well’. Let these words encourage you in your prayer today.

Thank you for the sun

Thank you for the moon

Thank you for the stars above

And the darkness too

Bless you for your peace

Bless you for your grace

Bless you for your perfect love

And your perfect ways

And all shall be well

All shall be well

All manner of things shall be well

Oh, use me as you will

Remove my selfish pride

Create in me a servant heart

To bless your holy bride

And when my work is done

And the seeds are sown

Please receive my spirit, Lord

Welcome me home

And all shall be well

All shall be well

All manner of things shall be well

2:13

Today’s reading is from the Book of Acts.

Acts 11:21-26, 13:1-3

The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went 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 associated with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians’.

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

4:16

fold

Today is the feast of St Barnabas, whose name means ‘son of encouragement’. Barnabas’ first response on seeing God’s grace at work in Antioch among people he didn’t know was to rejoice and then to encourage them to hold fast to the Lord. Who has encouraged the faith in your own life and how have you been an encourager of the faith of others?

It’s striking that the Holy Spirit’s call to mission comes during a time of prayer and fasting, when the community is gathered and attentive to God. Have you ever had a sense of being called by God to a particular work or service, like Paul and Barnabas? How did that call come to you, and how did you respond?

As we hear the reading again, notice the movement from joy to encouragement to mission. The grace of God is received and then shared. Where in this dynamic do you find yourself most at home – and where might God be inviting you to go?

7:39

Acts 11:21-26, 13:1-3

The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went 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 associated with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians’.

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

9:32

Barnabas was ‘a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.’ That is a generous and beautiful description. Take time now to speak to God about your own desire to be filled with the Spirit and with faith, and to ask for whatever you need to continue the life to which you feel called.

11:51

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be

World without end

Amen