“Sirs,
What Must I Do To Be Saved?”
They
Replied,
“Believe
In The Lord Jesus And You Will Be Saved ...”
Scripture
Acts
16
22 A mob
quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered
them stripped and beaten with wooden rods.
23 They were
severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer
was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape.
25 Around
midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and
the other prisoners were listening.
26 Suddenly,
there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its
foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of
every prisoner fell off!
27 The
jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the
prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself.
29 The
jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down
trembling before Paul and Silas.
31 They
replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along
with everyone in your household.”
33 Even at
that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their
wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately
baptized.
34 He
brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and
his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
Observation
Paul
and Silas were severely beaten with wooden rods and then they were
placed in the inner dungeon with their feet clamped in stocks.
So
what would you do if that happened to you? What would I do if that
happened to me?
What
Paul and Silas did in the middle of the night, at midnight, had all
the other prisoners listening and what they did caused a massive
earthquake.
What
they did caused all the doors in the prison to fly open and all the
chains on every prisoner to suddenly fall off. Yet not one prisoner
even tried to escape!
What
did they do to cause all of this?
The
severely beaten Paul and Silas, at midnight, began to pray and began
to sing hymns, with everyone in the jail listening!
I
love this story. It is all about God's love for a jailer.
God
didn't send the earthquake to free Paul and Silas! He didn't send the
earthquake to free any of the other prisoners either.
No,
God sent the earthquake and God caused all the chains to fall off of
all of the prisoners, not to free any of them, but to set a jailer
and his family free ... free from the penalty of their sins!
What
an amazing story!
Here
is one take home, one lesson from this story for me: when I face
adversity, when I face trials and hardships, the way I handle them
can cause someone who is watching me turn to Christ.
That
is if I handle my bad circumstances, the way Paul and Silas handled
theirs!
Application
God
is working in my life all the time, during the good times and the
bad. Even when circumstances are not good I know that God expects me
to praise Him, talk to Him, and trust Him.
Prayer
Heavenly
Father, I want to be like Paul and Silas. I want to be able to praise
You no matter what is going on in my life. Give me a heart like
theirs! They didn't complain about their wounds or their pain. They
prayed and sang praises to You. Help me to have that kind of faith.
I
pray for any person reading this blog today who is going through
adversity. I pray for those who are suffering. Encourage them through
this story of Paul and Silas and the jailer. Shake the ground
wherever they are at with Your power. Give them Your strength. Help
them to know that You are Sovereign and that You are in control even
when things seem totally out of control and seem to be heading in the
wrong direction.
Daily
Bible Reading: Job 11,12; Acts 15,16
> I have made it a habit to pray for those who read this blog! I enjoy lifting you and your family up to the Lord in prayer.
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