The apostle Paul traveled from place to place proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. Sometimes the Holy Spirit took him to a particular place where he could share the Gospel; other times he had to free from the oppressors. But wherever he was he wouldn’t budge and boldly preached Jesus the Messiah who died on the cross for our sins and rose  from the dead.

The people from different places responded to the Gospel differently as Luke recorded their mission diaries. In Luke 17:10-15 Paul arrived in Berea and as usual he preached in the Jewish synagogue. “The people of Berea were more open-mined than those in Thessalonica,” (v. 11). How were they open-mined toward Paul’s message? They not only listened to the word of God attentively and eagerly, but examined the Scriptures day after day to see if what they were taught was the truth. They were not “the blind leading the blind,” but honestly sought out the truth.

On the contrary some Jews in Thessalonica rounded up some troublemakers and caused a riot while Paul was teaching in the city. They even followed Paul to Berea to agitated the crowds so that Paul had to leave that city. They opposed Paul out of jealousy and stopped the people from believing in Jesus.

Are we open-minded when we are being taught the word of God? Are we like the Bereans who received the message with great eagerness and enthusiasm and who examined it daily?