Acts 14.1-20 - Lystra

You've seen it in the movies, a person mistaken for a god.  It happened in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, when the Ewoks worshiped C-3P0 (right).  And it happened to Paul and Barnabas.

The people of Lystra had the right idea about the wrong people.

They wanted someone to worship and trust.  

And how quickly we turn when others disappoint us.  Lystra went from worship to stoning and don't miss a beat. We build up celebrities, sports heroes, or politicians, only to tear them down in their humanity.

Paul and Barnabas proclaimed God in human form, but they proclaimed Jesus and not themselves. Lystra (and we) miss the really important message - "turn from these worthless things to the living God."  There's something more out there - a relationship with a merciful and living God.(below: Lystra (just a mound) today)

Acts 13.13-52 - Psidian Antioch

When we think of Acts, we think of thousands of new followers of Christ and great success.  But some cities held disappointment. Even Paul had bad days.  When Paul and Barnabas left this town, "they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium" (Acts 13.51). The church in Antioch of Psidia showed how Paul and Barnabas responded to rejection.
Sometimes, spreading God's Word and God's love is met with hostility or rejection. Jealousy hurts. Shaking the dust off your shoes is a way of moving on to the next item of ministry. And we should remember that failure sows the seeds of great success.  The passage says that "as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers" (Acts 13.48).  When the world hinders the seed of the gospel, God plants a tree.