Joses was a Levite, the tribe God had chosen to serve Him. Now a disciple, he sold his land in Cyprus and brought the proceeds to the apostles. They began calling him Son of Encouragement—Barnabas—the name we know him by. When Saul of Tarsus later came to Jerusalem, the believers there distrusted and were afraid of him. So Barnabas took him to the apostles and told how he had been saved and used of God. Let’s follow Barnabas’s example and give the Lord all we are and have and live to encourage others!

In Acts 11 Barnabas, a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch, where Gentiles were being saved. He gave encouragement and help and got Saul to come there too. These two together taught many people at Antioch a whole year. How good it is for Christians to serve the Lord together!

Coming back to Antioch after carrying a monetary gift from the brethren there to Jerusalem for famine relief, Barnabas’s young cousin John Mark came with them. Later when the Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul out as missionaries, John Mark went along to help. After working across Cyprus, Barnabas’s homeland, when Paul—notice the new name—and Barnabas continued on to the mainland, Mark left them, going home to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas went on together through hardship and persecution, finally returning to Antioch. Paul and Barnabas and others were sent to Jerusalem next to clarify a vital doctrinal question with the apostles and elders. Let’s be like Barnabas: encouragers, workers who work together with others and can accept others taking leadership!