Sent Off by the Church

Baptist Daily Devotional
Jul 22
2 min read

Rev. Enoch Thompson | July 22 2025 | Acts 13:1-4

KEY VERSE:

“So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” Acts 13:3 (NIV)

MESSAGE:

God calls us to personal faith in Him individually and in different situations. Ye, we are born again individually, but one thing is clear: we are saved individually to become part of a faith community, the Church. Our new birth experience is accompanied by a spiritual baptism into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). This spiritual act by God at the beginning of our faith walk with Him makes us an integral part of and inseparable from His body, the Church.

In an individualistic, Do-It-Yourself environment where people compete against each other and seek to assert their independence, we often stress our individuality to the neglect of our community. However, the Lord would have us return to His intention of individuals welded into a community, and He does it in many different ways. One of these is how He ushers us into ministry.

The calling of Paul and Barnabas could have been a very private affair, as many people are called into ministry over the years and in our day. But the endorsement of the community of believers, the Church, was necessary to give their move into the mission field a worthwhile backing.

When God deals with us as individuals, He provides for the gathered community of faith, the Church, to endorse His dealings in public ways.

FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:

Do you have a church family that stands with you and supports your sense of calling into ministry? Remember, we are called alone but not meant to walk alone.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for the grace of divine calling into faith and into ministry. Thank you for the Church and the roles it has played in my life and ministry. I pray that I will be conscious of the place of others in my life and that I will play my part in the life of the Church and, where necessary, validate others. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen.

THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.

SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

The 365 DAILY BIBLE READING Day 203: Ecclesiastes 7-8 - Wisdom and Mystery

DAILY word study: SENT

The word “sent” in Acts 13:3 is translated from the Greek apolýō, which means “to release, let go, or send away.” It implies being released with intention or purpose.

In this passage, Paul and Barnabas weren’t just dispatched. They were released into their assignment by the spiritual authority of the Church. This act wasn’t casual—it followed prayer and fasting. The word apolýō underscores that divine mission involves not just being called, but also being commissioned.

Reflect on this:

Are you holding on to someone God is releasing—or refusing to step into what He’s released you for?