"Timothy would be busy learning lessons in those days, and, among other things, he was taught by his grandmother and his mother the stories in the Old Testament, a great part of which Jewish boys had to learn by heart. One day a great excitement happened in the village, a missionary travelling through the country stopped at Lystra to preach the Gospel, which means good news, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Who had lately been put to death at Jerusalem), was _their_ God and Saviour, Who had died and risen from the dead, and gone back to Heaven, and would forgive all their sins, and help them to live for Him, and afterwards receive them into His glory. "That _was_ good news, and if Lois and Eunice went to hear that Gospel preaching, as I think they did, I know they must have enjoyed it, for we also know that later they both became Christians. The missionary, who came to preach at Lystra, was really the Great Apostle, St. Paul. "We can picture the boy Timothy standing among the crowd, probably listening to this new teacher, when presently St. Paul caught the earnest eyes of a poor lame man gazing at him, with an expression which seemed to convey to him that he believed all he was saying, and could trust the power of this Great God Whom he preached--the Lord Jesus. And Paul, '_perceiving he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on thy feet." And he leaped and walked._' (Acts. xiv. 9-10.) "Then the poor, ignorant people, when they saw what was done, cried out, '_The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men._' And Barnabas, who was with St. Paul, and was the elder of the two men, they called Jupiter, and the Great Apostle by the name of Jupiter's son, Mercurius--you know, of course, there are no real gods of those names, only the One true God we worship. "But these poor heathen did not know that, so their priest brought garlands to crown the Apostles, and oxen to sacrifice to them, and St. Paul and Barnabas were dreadfully distressed, and rent their clothes (a thing Eastern people used to do to show their distress), and ran among them, exclaiming, '_Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, Which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness._' "'_And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them._' (Acts xiv. 15-18.)