ACTS - The Life and Ministry of Paul

ACTS 13;1-12

1) In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
2) While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
3) So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them, and sent them off.
4) The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
5) When they arrived at Salamis, the proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6) They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,
7) who was an attendant of the proconsul - Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.
8) But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
9) Then Saul (who was also called Paul) filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,
10) "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?
11) Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun." Immediately mist and darkness overcame him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
12) When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
13) From Pathos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.

*What role did Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen play in sending Saul and Barnabas ?

*Why do you think Saul called the Jewish sorcerer a child of the devil?

*Which if any, of these four words "work" for describing how the proconsul responded to the teaching about the Lord?

Paul called Bar-Jesus a "child of the devil". Bar-Jesus in Aramaic means Son of Jesus. In effect, Paul was saying: "You're no son of Jesus, you are the son of a devil"

Consider how the following phrases apply to Bar-Jesus (Elymas) as well as to Satan:
===full of deceit: The original Greek word 'dolos' means bait, metaphorically and generally fraud, guile, deceit." Remember that Bar-Jesus (Elymas) was a sorcerer, which meant he was a magus or presumed wise man, who specialized in the study of astrology and enchantment.
===full of trickery: The original Greek word 'rhadiourgia' is often used for theft through "wicked schemes or plots".
===Perverted the right ways of the Lord: The original Greek word "diastrepho" means "to turn or twist throughout----to distort, pervert, seduce, mislead; to turn away"

??Anyone you know of that would fit this description? Do you see Satan using these means in the life of anyone you know of?

LIFE LESSON #1: Satan is all around us

A crow was sitting in a tree, doing nothing all day.
A small rabbit saw the crow and asked: "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?"
The crow answered: "Sure, why not?" Soooo, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, just sat and did nothing.
All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

LIFE LESSON: Satan won't tell you that if you plan to be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

what can satan do that humans can't?

LIFE LESSON #2: Satan is all around us

A turkey was chatting with a bull.
The turkey sighed and said: "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree but I haven't got the energy."
The nearby bull replied: "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings? They are packed with nutrients."
Turkey: pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree.
Next day: after eating some more, he could reach the second branch.
After a fortnight: he was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

There he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree - and the farmer's family enjoyed a very fine dinner that night.

Life Lesson: Satan wants you to do this also, but he won't tell you that bulls*** might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

This thread is searching and learning about the Word.
Not to preach to others, or convince others.
Searching and learning, evolving, character building.

IMO, based on the role that is assigned universally to Satan,
he can't/won't influence others in a positive, non-disruptive,
non-self-centered way. Satan constantly tries to derail any good that does exist, anywhere, anytime.
And he uses others (such as Bar-Jesus/Elymas) to do so.

Satan does not make any attempt to correct/control/override these characteristics that are universally assigned to him.

Whereas, a human could/would/does . Not all do, but it happens as much as or more often, then it doesn't.

I thought Saul changed his name to Paul after Jesus resurrected and came to him on the road to... Somewhere, I forget.

I think Paul called homie a child of the devil because he was trying to turn the proconsul from the faith. Which doesn't make him the child of the devil, it just makes him like many other religious people out there.
If Paul pulled that s*** nowadays he'd most likely be considered an Ass.

Life Lesson #3 - Satan is all around us:

When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss.
The brain said: "I should be Boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions."
The feet said: "We should be Boss as we carry the brain about and get him to where he wants to go."
The hands replied: "We should be the Boss because we do all the work and earn all the money." And so it went, on and on and on -- with the heart, the lungs, and the eyes ..... until finally it was time for the anus to speak up.
All the body parts laughed outrageously at the very idea of the anus being the Boss. Hearing this, the anus promptly went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work.
Whooo, immediate ramifications on all the other parts of the body.
The eyes became crossed; the hands clenched; the feet twitched; the heart was pounding so fast heart attack seemed a certainty; the lungs were seizing up making breathing extremely difficult; and the brain (head) became fevered.
Rather quickly, they saw the error of their ways and made a motion to make the anus the Boss. The motion was passed and so it came to be ... that all the other parts of the body did the work while the Boss just sat and delegated out all the poo that came into his office.

Life Lesson: If you believe Satan, you don't need brains to be a Boss (or a success/manager/supervisor). Any ASHhat will do.

He did become known as Paul after his conversion, that's true.
But Acts 9 is where his conversion takes place, yet he is not referred to as Paul until Acts 13:9. No explanation is provided of how or why the name change.
In the literal sense of what you are saying, though, people of other churches/religions who talk with me about their God/their church/ their religion do not come across as 'judging' me for believing differently then they do. Many do get a lil carried away, a lil too passionate about something they believe in wholeheartedly.

Based on his actions before his conversion, he probably was considered one (an 'ash'- then, by some, despite his level of education and diction. He was very passionate and zealous about what he believed in. Extremely outspoken. Trump-like, even.

LIFE LESSON #4 - Satan is all around us:

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was soooo cold that the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped a load of hot, steaming dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of poo, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He
lay there all warm and happy and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. The cat followed the sound and discovered the bird under the pile of dung. The cat promptly dug the bird out, killed him, and ate him..

Life Lessons:
a) Not everyone who drops poo on you is your enemy.
b) Not everyone who pulls you out of crap is your friend, and
c) When you are warm and happy in your own pile of poo, keep your mouth shut!

[[Satan, or those he uses, would have you believing, trusting, otherwise.]]

used car dealers

I do not understand

Chuckle

Is Satan an entity?

Satan is the greatest scapegoat of all time.

People need to take more responsibility.