Acts 16 So the story advances. Timothy and Silas join Paul on this leg of missionary trips that serve to advance the church. Some points that stand out to me: DETAILS: There are details listed here, and some of them seem a little tedious. The circumcision of Timothy, etc. But they are proof that nothing good for God comes without effort. That was true then, and its true today. THE SPIRIT OF GOD: I love how in vs. 6-7 we see the Holy Spirit stopping Paul and his group from entering certain regions. (I also love in vs. 7 how this same Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus - further proof of the Trinity!). This happened for reasons Paul certainly didnt understand. He had a good idea, the idea to spread the word of the Lord with people in a certain region. But God stopped him. Sometimes that can be us. We think well do a certain thing or create a certain thing for God. Were convinced this thing or that direction are where God is calling us. But then things dont work out and we are left wondering if we heard God or not. Remember this ... sometimes the Holy Spirit will stop us from going in what otherwise seemed like a great direction. We dont have to know why. We only need to know that God has our best interest at heart. Always. DETAILS: Lots happen in the last half of this chapter. We see Paul leading Lydia to know the Lord, and this then goes on to affect all of her family. An amazing thing about Lydia - she becomes instrumental in spreading the gospel to Europe ... which means that if you live in Northern America or Europe ... Pauls message to Lydia made a direct impact on you! Amazing how our God works! Another detail: The slave girl who had a bad spirit of fortune telling (something to keep in mind when we see fortune tellers today - this is NOT and never is from God. Same with horoscopes). Finally in vs. 18 Paul is troubled and kicks the spirit out of the girl in the name of Jesus Christ. But that sends events into a tailspin as the owners of the slave girl are angry and arrange for the arrest of Paul and Silas. PRISON: Paul and Silas are thrown into prison and are severely flogged and placed in a cell with their feet locked into metal locks or stocks. Okay, lets really let that sink in. These guys are beaten nearly to death, and then placed in prison with chains around their feet. They cant move if they want to. PRAISE: Which makes vs. 25 one of my ALL TIME favorite verses ... About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Do we just maybe need a moment to grasp that picture? Beaten, nearly dead ... Paul and Silas are locked into place and cant move behind bars in a Roman prison ... and they are PRAYING and SINGING HYMNS ... Wow ... Would that we might all have such unbelievable faith. I just love this! EARTHQUAKE: An earthquake comes and shakes Paul and Silas free. The guard knows hes done for, so he draws his sword to kill himself. Now, Paul certainly wants to get out. He has just been divinely set free. But the only thing he cares about is the salvation of the jailor. Wow ... again, the picture of faith in this intense drama is unparalleled. PAULS SPUNK: I love that after all this .. after leading the jailor and his family to the Lord and baptizing them, and getting permission to leave the city in peace but through the back gates, Paul wont hear of it. Vs. 37 shows him saying that he wont leave quietly. The Roman guards can escort them out for all to see. Friends, lets pray for the forever faith to not only stand up for God in times of intense persecution, but to come out of those times swinging for God. Okay. Deep breath ... amazing drama. More to come tomorrow! Love you all :)
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 03:28:27 +0000
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