The Apostle Paul was a man with vision, and also a man who had visions!  Paul's most renowned vision occurred, of course, on the road to Damascus.  At that time, Paul was transformed from a persecutor of the church to the most powerful communicator for the church, because Jesus spoke to him directly .  In today's Scripture, Paul received another vision, less dramatic than the famous one, but after the Holy Spirit had closed a couple of doors, it must have been a welcome relief to be given a clear direction for where to go to spread the Good News of Jesus:  ⁹That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 

Imagine what it must have been like to finally be given the "green light" to go somewhere to share the Gospel! Isn't it interesting that in the vision a Macedonian man was standing in front of Paul and PLEADING with him, "Cover over here!"  Paul wasn't just given a vision of a place, he saw a real person, who really wanted help.  I love the image because it reminds me of New Life's mission:  sharing the new life of Jesus Christ with the world--ONE person at a time.  Of course Paul and Silas were going to tell more than one person about Jesus in Macedonia, and yet it was the cry of ONE man who motivated Paul and Silas to head to that region.  That reminds us of something vital:  while we may have the opportunity to tell a large crowd about Jesus occasionally, the normal way we share the Good News is one on one. 

Think about that last statement for a moment.  Who is one person you will have the opportunity to tell about Jesus today?  Is it someone in your family?  Someone from work?  Someone at school?  The reality is in our one on one relationships each of us has a far greater opportunity to advance God's Kingdom than most of us will ever have in a large group.    Take a moment right now, and ask God to either show you who He wants you to share the Gospel with today, or if you already know who it is, then ask God for favor as you tell the person.

Let's pray:  Heavenly Father, Thank You for giving us the opportunity to know You and to tell others about You.  Fill us with the Holy Spirit that we may be bold in our witness and gentle in our approach to telling and showing others about You.  This we pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.