Pastor Monte Knudsen has been preaching a series called, “Made for Fulfillment” on Wednesday nights. He showed us in Genesis how God created us to: increase, multiply, replenish, rule, subdue, overcome, produce, be fruitful and fulfilled.
Each day, I wrote these words at the top of my “Task List” for the day. I used them as a guide to prioritize the tasks. I never get through the list. (Sigh.)
I see other bloggers, with jobs and small children, who produce beautiful, professional-looking posts. I think they are smarter than me. When I read today’s verses, the phrase “intelligent man” stuck with me.
Acts 13:6, 7, “And when they had gone through the whole island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.” Modern English Version
If the proconsul/governor was intelligent, why was he with a sorcerer?
“He attached himself to the governor, . . .” Acts 13:7 New Living Translation
The New Living Translation called Sergius Paulus, “a man of considerable insight and understanding.” The King James Version called him “prudent” and the New American Standard Bible called him a “man of intelligence.”
“Intelligent. (1) having good understanding or a high mental capacity; quick to comprehend. (2) displaying or characterized by quickness of understanding, sound thought, or good judgment.” dictionary.com
Sergius needed all the attributes of intelligence because he was an important man.
“Paphos. It was the headquarters for Roman Rule.” New International Version Study Bible Notes
* * * * * * *
“The Proconsul. This name was reserved for the governors of settled provinces which were placed under the Roman Senate, and is never given in the New Testament to Pilate, Felix, or Festus, who were but Procurators, or subordinate administrators of unsettled, imperial, military provinces.
Now as Augustus reserved Cyprus for himself, its governor would in that case have been not a Proconsul, but simply a Procurator, had not the emperor afterwards restored it to the Senate as a Roman historian [Dio Cassius] expressly states.
In most striking confirmation of this minute accuracy of the sacred historian, coins have actually been found in the island, stamped with the names of Proconsuls, both in Greek and Latin. [Ackerman’s Numismatic Illustrations of the New Testament.]”
Critical and Explanatory Commentary, Vol. II
Sergius Paulus was the governor at the headquarters for Roman Rule. What did that “prudent and intelligent” man do?
“Who thirsting for truth, sent for Barnabas and Saul, desiring (‘earnestly desiring’) to hear the word of God.”
Critical and Explanatory Commentary, Vol. II
Satan can no longer lie to me telling me I am not smart. Why? I desire to hear the word of God. That is why I attend church on Wednesday nights. I am thirsty for truth. That is why I will dig deeper when a phrase piqued my interest.
I just spent over 2 hours researching and writing this post. It will take another 45 minutes to type it up and proofread it 5 times. You read that correctly. Each post is proofread 5 times in different formats.
If it takes 1 hour or 4 hours, I will keep working on a post until I am sure it is complete. My fulfillment is found in reading the published post. I will continue to thirst for the truth and earnestly desire to hear the word of God because that is what intelligent people do!
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