Unstoppable! 'A Passion to Connect' — Acts 21:1-4

Luke is careful to record the travels of Paul. Most people skip over these kinds of sections unless they are geography-lovers or historians. Sometimes, however, God reveals some of his essential principles in conjunction with these sorts of lists. After mentioning the obvious — the traveling party went ashore after having sailed for quite some time — Luke reminds us of the importance of fellowship with other believers. Paul's team searched till they found other followers of Jesus. Then, they stayed with them for a week. All too often when modern believers travel, we "take a vacation from church." I am thankful for people like Mac and Gerry McCauley, who traveled a great deal in retirement. On Sundays, they made a point to visit a congregation wherever they were. They took people out for lunch who were church leaders and blessed them. On one occasion, they stopped in Bangkok, Thailand, and found a young man named Robert at the church there. They encouraged him. They then went back to his home church and convinced their mission committee to sponsor him. Now, thirty years later, Robert and his wife Jan have led hundreds to Christ and mentored hundreds more to be ministers all over Asia. Don't overlook the power and principle of this last sentence in today's verses: "We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week." What difference can a visit with other believers make? Just ask hundreds who know Christ and lead churches in Asia!