"Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord." Acts 13:12

The proconsul, Sergius Paulus, had just witnessed something incredible. The Jewish false prophet, Bar-Jesus, was blinded by mist and darkness after Paul rebuked him for seeking to deceive and turn the proconsul from the faith. A seeing man suddenly gone blind, that would certainly be something out of the ordinary. But what struck me as I read this passage is that the proconsul believed because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord! Surely he must have been amazed by the miraculous power Paul possessed. It was, however, the teaching of the Lord that led this man to the saving faith. This has been my prayer, that as we do any kind of mission work or disaster relief, what captures people's heart and mind would not simply be the outward physical work we do. Rather, let the word of God's truth that He has laid on our heart and put on our lips be the message that transforms lives and gives true hope.