Verses 1-3
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Paul and Barnabas had to work harder in their preaching because some of the Jews were trying to persuade the crowds to reject them.
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God helped them by granting them the power to work miracles, which made them more persuasive.
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If you are trying to share Christ with a person, and someone else is trying to stop it, do not give up! God will help you!
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Verse 3. God uses miracles to confirm His Word when we are preaching it to others.
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And the power to work miracles is given by God. God decides when a miracle can happen (Hebrews 2:4).
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Trust that God will provide the miracles that are needed to confirm His Word to people.
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Verses 4-10
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Verse 6. Martyrdom should be avoided whenever possible. Avoid death if you can.
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Verse 9-10. Some healing miracles happen because the person being prayed for had faith great enough to receive healing.
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In other cases, the faith comes from the person doing the praying (Acts 3:16). In either case, someone needs to have faith if a healing is going to happen (Matthew 17:19-20).
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Keep an eye out for people who show signs of faith. This could bring you an opportunity to pray for them and experience a miracle.
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Verses 11-18
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When miracles are performed, people can have a tendency to praise the worker, rather than praising God (Acts 3:12).
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Verse 14. In moments where God might use you to perform a miracle, put in extra effort to show that you are no one special, and that the power comes from God. God gets the glory.
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Verses 16-17. Rain and sunshine, food and drink...all these things in life are God's goodness to us. This goodness that we get to experience, even though we continue to sin, is meant to show us how forgiving and gracious God is to us (Matthew 5:45).
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If people seem unaware of God in their lives, remind them that God is being good to them through what He provides in creation.
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Verses 19-20
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God is able, even in cases where there is severe injury, to cause a miraculous recovery that allows a person to continue as if they were never injured at all.
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At times, God will allow us to be persecuted like this in order to show the power of Jesus' resurrection in our bodies after persecution has left our bodies terribly damaged or close to death (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-11).
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Remember that violent persecution against you, when you continue to press on, shows the power of Christ in your body. This is a powerful influence on others.
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Verses 21-28
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As Paul and Barnabas did, give attention to strengthening and encouraging believers, especially when they are going through hard times.
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Verse 22. It will strengthen believers to remind them that hardships are a necessary part of following Jesus. It will weaken a believer if they think that life isn't supposed to be hard.
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Verse 23. Believers need to have elders/pastors appointed over them.
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As a believer, know who your leaders are.
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Verse 23,26. “Commended to the grace of God”—this means to entrust someone to God, or to trust God to take care of someone.
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After you've done what you are able to do, to help someone, make sure that you trust God to take care of the people you're concerned about.
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Praying and fasting for them consistently is a way to do this (1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 9:14-15). Fast and pray if you have worry about anything.
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Verse 28. Take your time when you are around other believers. Don't be rushed, but value your time with believers.