While there still is SOME February I'll try write one...
Last week at our women's study group we were looking at Acts 16 where Paul and Silas have quite an experience. I'll sum it up in my own words for brevity's sake.
Paul and Silas were travelling through Asia and they were forbidden by the Spirit to preach the Word there. They tried to go through Bithynia but were forbidden by the Spirit also. Finally Paul had a dream where a Macedonian man was calling him to come and help them. So off they went to Philippi.
On the Sabbath they went out of the city, down to the riverside where a group of women always met to pray. Amongst their group was a woman named Lydia. She was from a city called Thyatira (a long way from Philippi) and she was a seller of purple and fine linen. She was also a worshiper of God and when she had heard Paul and Silas' message she immediately requested baptism. Then she insisted they come and stay at her house in Philippi.
During the week Paul and Silas wandered through the city and this rich merchant had a slave girl. This slave girl followed them around proclaiming Christ. Finally after a few days, an annoyed Paul turned and rebuked her and cast out the demon. Immediately the girl's owner dragged Paul and Silas before the city elders and demanded they be prosecuted for disturbing the peace and taking away their source of income. So they stripped and beat them and put them in stocks in the innermost part of the prison. That night, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns deep inside the prison when there was a violent earthquake. The jailer was petrified and sought to take his life because he thought the prisoners had escaped but Paul called out and let him know they were still there so he ran to them and asked 'What must I do to be saved?'. He then took them to his own house, washed their wounds, gave them food, and he and his entire household were baptised that very night. The next day the authorities came to the house and asked Paul and Silas to leave the city quietly. But Paul didn't want this so told them about his Roman citizenship and demanded to be released publicly. So they released him and asked him to leave the city. On the way out they went past Lydia's house again where the Christians were gathering.
So thats a very loose summary of the passage but I hope you get the idea. There are three things I wanna pull from this...
1) Paul and Silas were FORBIDDEN by the HOLY SPIRIT to preach the WORD!
I don't know about you but this just makes me go
and ask why God would not want the word preached! However, after discussing it a few times, its made me wonder how many things in our own lives are forbidden by the Holy Spirit. Often I will be driving around and catch red light after red light. I start to get angry with myself, my car, the traffic signals, traffic, etc. But in light of this passage, what if God is trying to teach me something? What if God is causing me to catch red light after red light for a specific reason? I have been pondering this over the last few days and the other day we were driving in the country where the speed limit is 100 (80mph ish). As we were travelling, we came up to a car that was driving incredibly slowly along this open road. There was no place to pass and I expressed annoyance. Will immediately reminded me of this thought and was giving possible reasons for us being stuck. We realised it very soon when we came to a bump in the road that gives the car a big jolt every time you go over at 100. We were travelling abotu 70/80 at this time and when we came to the bump, we didn't jolt and that was a big blessing because we had the car boot full of items that could easily have broken or been damaged had we been going faster! So - just a small illustration but worth thinking about! So often we blame ourselves or others for things that go wrong, yet Paul and Silas trusted that God had a purpose in forbidding them.
2) When the way is unclear and the outcome is unfair, never cease praising the Lord.
So there Paul and Silas were, travelling around preaching - when they're stopped from going to two places. If this was me I would be incredibly frustrated and probably want to throw in the towel. After all these setbacks they finally realised they were to go to Philippi. Reason unknown. When they get there, they meet with some Christians and then eventually get arrested! Not for preaching the gospel, not for doing anything specifically 'Christian' but for disturbing the peace and ruining someone's livelihood! Not only were they thrown into prison unjustly (they were Roman citizens) they were stripped, flogged, and put into the most secure part of the prison - in stocks! Sans trial! Now I don't know about you, but if it were me in this situation, I would be incredibly indignant, self-righteous and proclaiming my rights and innocence to any and everyone. Not Paul and Silas. In the midst of this unjust treatment, they calmly praised the Lord - and not just quietly! They prayed aloud and sang in a way that even the jailer could hear them. Is this our first reaction when something goes wrong in our lives? Do we praise God in all circumstances?
3) Act on what we know to be true without weighing up the odds and trying to figure out what God's will REALLY is.
The Philippian jailer is an awesome guy. He was obviously the type of guy to take his job seriously. He lived on site, he put the two men in stocks and he was prepared to lose his life over two missing prisoners. Yet he went through a miraculous, instantaneous change that completely transformed him and his entire family. When the earthquake struck, he was prepared to take his life. The next minute, he was desperate for eternal life. The minute after, he was risking his life! This man became a follower of Jesus through the testimony of Paul and Silas and immediately had a relationship with Jesus Christ. We know this because he risked his job, his life and the life of his family by taking Paul and Silas into his own home, washing their wounds and feeding these 'high risk prisoners' because he believed it was what God was asking him to do. That REALLY speaks to me. When I hear of people who need fellowship/a meal/whatever, I will possibly put it into my diary to do sometime. Not this guy. He saw a need, risked his life, followed Christ and met that need for that person. He was sold-out to Christ from the second he committed his life. He asked no questions, he simply DID. That is a big challenge to me. Do I simply DO? Or do I weigh the odds and count the cost before meeting a need or following Christ's example? I don't think that the Lord wants us to make decisions based on circumstances with regard to obeying Him - I believe He wants us to be in such close communion with Him that obedience to Christ is done out of love and willingness and that we do it at whatever cost.
So there you go, just a couple of thoughts on this passage - its been sitting in my mind for a week now and I still find it hugely inspirational! Do go and read the passage yourself though - I may have missed some bits! I hope it encourages you as it did me!
Subject: February Devotionals 
Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:17 pm
