Each day during the month of March we will be sharing a devotional from a booklet written by Steve Love. Steve is a member of Canton First and a Traumatic Brain Injury survivor. If you would like a complete PDF of this devotional, it can be downloaded here.
Day 25
Acts 18:24-25 (New International Version)
24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.
Apollos was a Greek Jew from Alexandria. He had vast knowledge of the Scriptures. The Scriptures at the time in history was made up of the Old Testament. Apollos had some knowledge of Jesus and saw Jesus for who he was. His knowledge only went to the time Jesus was baptism by his cousin John. He had no magazine, no newspaper account, and no Fox’s News to give him the up-to-date information about Jesus and the events in Israel.
Apollos used what knowledge he had and been teaching what he knew about Jesus. Priscilla and Aquila two of Paul’s traveling companions heard about Apollos taking him under their infused explained to him the way of God and give him a deeper knowledge about Jesus. Apollos took the knowledge he gains from them and preached the gospel. He became a very well known though out of church. He was ranked up there with Paul and Peter as one of the key leaders of the church of that day. It is believing by some that he wrote the book of Hebrews.
Apollos gained knowledge and he shared the knowledge he received with others. He saw and started a ministry drawing upon the knowledge he proceeds. We process knowledge of God and living a life with a brain injury. We could have done with out the personal knowledge of a brain injury, but we have it. What are we going to about the knowledge we process?
The avenge person dose not know nor do they think about brain injury. I never gave it a thought before I became a person with a brain injury. I am a fan of the TV show Star Trek. One of the epodes called Spook’s Brain; you will hear the question asked of Captain Kirk, “Brain, and brain, what is brain?” When I was told I had a brain injury I wanted to ask Brain injury, brain injury, what is brain injury? It was only when I was face with living life as a person with a brain injury, I started to learn about it.
The knowledge I gain though studying about brain injury and living with one made me what to do something to help other not to have to live life as I must live. Having a better understanding about the large task of informing others about brain injuries just makes my desire to teach them greater. It’s just like our knowledge of God and Jesus. The more we understand them the greater is our desire to tell other what they have done for us personally. In cases of our knowledge of God and Jesus, and our knowledge of brain injuries we are driven to share with others.
The human nature which we all process becomes at war with our desires to help others. We see our weakness, our disability, and have no faith in our abilities to make a different on those around us. Priscilla and Aquila saw what Apollos had to offer God and encourage him. We never see ourselves as other see us. They can see and believe we can make a different. Other and God has faith in our capabilities. Is it not time that we have faith in ourselves?
Pray and thank God for the Priscilla’s and Aquila’s of our lives who has been there for us.
Pray and thank God for the fact He believes in us and has faith that we can make a different in our world.
Pray and ask God to help us as we share the knowledge, we process about Him and the knowledge we process about brain injury.