Be a Person of Influence

Hello and welcome to Van Life Devotions. Happy Mother's Day! We are in Thessalonica, now known as Thessaloniki. This is the most important city of Greece after Athens. Unfortunately, Thessaloniki has very few sites as the city is built over them. The small sites they do have are closed to the public. In ancient times it was the primary transportation link between Europe and the Middle East. In addition to its commercial importance, Thessalonica was also a political and military hub. Merchants, traders, and refugees from all over the Mediterranean have settled here for millennia. When Paul arrived in 49AD Thessalonica was the capital and most important city in the Roman province of Macedonia. It was a walled city which, like most Roman cities had a forum, a gymnasium, a stadium, an agora, an acropolis, and monumental city gates.

In Acts 17, Luke wrote when Paul and his companions came here: “When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah," he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go” (Acts 17:1-9 NIV).

Apart from being blown away but also challenged by Paul’s boldness, commitment, and determination in preaching the good news of Jesus, I find it motivating that twice in this passage Luke mentions “prominent women” becoming believers in Jesus the Messiah. In a time when women were usually considered lower class citizens, once again, as in Philippi, here were “a number” of prominent women who became believers, how exciting. Imagine the impact they would have, using their prominent position to bring the gospel message from a women’s perspective.

There are several passages in which Paul gives tribute to women who either helped him and/or serve the church effectively. In Colossians, Paul gave a greeting Nympha and the church that met in her house (Colossians 4:15) which was in Laodicea. Because of Nympha, the church was able to meet and worship and learn and Paul recognized her faithful ministry to others. Lydia, who we talked about in Philippi also hosted a church in her home and supported Paul’s ongoing ministry. There are several other women that Paul mentions in his letters that either helped him in his ministry or serving in churches.

The more I read the Bible the more I am inspired by the incredible women that God used to do amazing things for His Kingdom. I wonder, how should I be using my position to be more bold, committed, and full of determination to tell of the good news of Jesus, there’s a challenge.

Let’s Pray:

Dear God. Thank you for the women throughout the ages that faithfully built Your kingdom. Help us to use our positions and opportunities in life to talk about you with boldness, commitment, and determination. O God, preserve us who travel; surround us with your loving care; protect us from every danger; and bring us in safety to our journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Leisl Moyes