Be Still And Know

Acts 11.25-26 NLT 'Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)' Barnabas’ famous gift of encouragement was not only expressed in words. He also took action. He could see that the church in Antioch desperately needed a good leader and he was convinced that he knew the right man. Antioch, in Syria, was a busy commercial centre and it had a very mixed population. There were many Jews in the city and an increasing number of people from a non-Jewish background who were following Christ. It was crucial that a good appointment was made and Barnabas was sure that Saul had exactly the right qualifications. So he set off to search for him in his hometown of Tarsus in Southern Turkey, as it’s known today. It was now 14 years since Saul’s conversion and so he had had a long period in which to grow as a follower of Christ, and to develop his teaching ministry. Having tracked down Saul, Barn