Keep Moving Forward

Sunday, September 6th, 2026

6:53 am

Good morning! Today I am in Acts 13:44-52. The next week almost the entire city of Antioch of Pisidia came out to hear Paul and Barnabas preach the Word of God. But when some of the Jews saw how large the crowd was they became jealous, and started slandering Paul and arguing against everything he said. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and told them that it was necessary for them to go to the Jews first with the Word of God, but since they rejected it and judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, they offered it to the Gentiles. Telling them that the Lord gave them this command, "I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth." When the Gentiles heard this they were very glad and thanked the Lord for His message. And all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. So the Lord's message spread throughout that region. Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and leaders of the city, inciting a mob against Paul and Barnabas, and ran them out of the city. So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Again we see here, some of the people received Paul and Barnabas's message, but many refused. The ones that refused were many of the Jews. And just like Jesus told His disciples when He sent them into the different towns in Mark 6:11, they shook the dust from their feet and moved on to the next town.

This is something that we have seen over and over again, but it is a very important reminder to not get stuck. To keep moving forward in what God has called you to do. If the disciples and Paul and Barnabas would have stopped going from town to town every time the people rejected the message of God they were sharing with the people, we would not be where we are today. The same thing goes for all of us today. We cannot allow disappointment, rejection, or failure to stop us from spending time with God or sharing His Word. Jesus told us that we would face hardship and rejection, but He told us to not let that stop us. Instead we are to keep moving forward, leaning on Him for direction and understanding. When one thing doesn't work out, seek Him and allow Him to show you what to do next or how to go forward. The enemy wants us to get stuck, and not try again. He wants to discourage us and make us feel like we can't do anything right, but that is a lie. Yes, we may fail sometimes, but we are meant to learn from those failures and try again. Don't give up. Don't give in to what the enemy wants. Keep seeking God and His ways, and He will help you.