The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Acts 16:14b, 18b, 25-26, 34,
“The Lord opened her [Lydia’s] heart to respond to Paul's message.” … “‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’ At that moment the spirit left her [the fortune-telling slave girl].” … “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.” … ” The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.”
Paul and his companions (which included at a minimum, Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke) visited the city of Philippi on Paul’s second missionary trip. This is the city in which Paul planted a church that he would later send a letter to, the New Testament book we call “Philippians”. In this city the theme of deliverance is acted out by the Lord in every activity that is recorded by Luke. Paul and Silas were delivered from incarceration in the Philippian jail and a servant girl is delivered from “a spirit” that enabled her owners to make money by fortune-telling. Lydia and her household are delivered from God’s judgment through the evangelistic efforts of Paul and company, as well as the Philippian jailor and his household.
God is our God of deliverance, he is our great deliverer! Enslaved to sin and the judgment it brings, living in a lost and fallen world our great God delivers us! Of our wonderful God, David says in Psalm 18:2, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
(314) 814-8486
This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately
No comments:
Post a Comment