“Superpowers”

BIBLE READING: Acts 28

                                                             

               Little boys (and sometimes, us older boys) dream about being superheroes.  We think about how awesome it would be to fly, have superhuman strength, or be able to move objects with just our mind.  How cool would it be to see Paul with the natives of Malta?  Shipwrecked on Malta, Paul is gathering sticks for the fire, and a viper latches onto his hand (verse 3) and nothing happens to him.  The natives of Malta would have known this particular type of reptile because verse 6 tells us “they were expecting that he would swell up or fall down dead”.  Yet, “he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.” (Verse 5) After this, Paul heals Publius’ father of dysentery (verse 8) and the “rest of those on the island who had diseases.” (Verse 9)

               As we close out our devotionals on the book of Acts, it’s good to reflect on what’s recorded in the book of Acts and the miraculous “superpowers” these men had in the first century.  People were in awe of what these men were doing, and it was very convincing to those wanting to become Christians.  We know these miracles are not performed today because we now have God’s Word in the form of the Bible, because it is the “perfect” that has come along (1 Corinthians 13:10).  As our daily studies continue, I hope we can have that same sense of awe as they did in the first century, to see these wonderful miracles as we open our Bibles to discover more and more of God’s Word.