MORE NOBLE CHARACTER

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THESSALONICA AND BEREA

Read Acts 17:1–15

     Paul reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ."  Acts 17:2-3 NKJV

* * *

     For three Sabbaths Paul taught in the synagogue at Thessalonica before opposition began. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks, both men and women. These would become the founders of the Thessalonian church.
     But the Jewish leaders were jealous and hired some evil men to round up a mob and cause a riot. When word of this arrived, the believers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.

     "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men." (Acts 17:11-12 NIV)

* * *

     Lord, help us to be like the Bereans, getting to know Your Word and teaching it accurately to our children, so that they can recognize the difference between truth and error and find Your perfect will for their lives

* * *

     When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.   Acts 17:13-14 NIV

SINGING IN PRISON

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IMPRISONED IN PHILIPI

Read Acts 16:16–40

      At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25 NKJV

* * *

      One day on the way to the place of prayer a demon possessed girl followed Paul and Silas shouting "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved."
     Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the demon, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" (Acts 16:17-18) 

     This act of compassion for the girl resulted in a loss of profits for her owners, so they arrested and flogged Paul and Silas, threw them into prison, and fastened their feet in stocks.
     At midnight, as they were singing hymns, a violent earthquake caused the doors to open and everyone's chains to come loose. The frightened jailer cried out, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household." (Acts 16:30-31)
     At that very hour of the night, Paul shared the gospel with the jailer's family and they believed and were baptized. After they left the prison, Paul and Silas  went to the house of Lydia, the "seller of purple" who had opened her home to believers.

* * *

      Lord, Your chosen ones were in every place the apostles traveled: A city given over to demons, a cold dark prison, a women's prayer group by the river – all known to You from before the beginning of time. Thank You for including us in this vast multitude of believers.

* * *

      So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed. Acts 16:40 NKJV

COME HELP US

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LYDIA OF PHILIPPI

Read Acts 16:6–15

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Acts 16:9 NKJV

* * *

Paul, Silas and Timothy attempted to enter Asia on their second missionary journey, but the Holy Spirit prevented them, closing the door on their plans. Paul saw a vision, as he slept, of a Macedonian man pleading with him to come and help them. When the three men arrived in Philippi, Macedonia, they stayed for several days. On the Sabbath they went to the riverside where prayer was customarily made. What they found was not a man, as Paul saw in his vision, but a prayer meeting for women.

One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. (16:14 NIV) Lydia opened both her heart and her home for the apostles to stay, planting a church at Philippi and beginning what would become a lighthouse of the gospel in Europe.

* * *

Lord, how glad I am that You value the ministry of women like Lydia, Mary, Martha, and so many others who helped to start the early churches. May our home be a welcoming lighthouse and may our influence be multiplied through our children.

* * *

When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." Acts 16:15 NKJV

DISAGREEMENTS

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TIMOTHY

Read Acts 15:36-41; 1Timothy 1; 2 Timothy 1:5–7

      He came to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek.    Acts 16:1 NIV

* * *

      Many of the believers in Antioch were taking on the responsibility of teaching and preaching, so Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." (Acts 15:36) Barnabas insisted on taking John Mark along, but Paul sharply disagreed because Mark deserted them on the first journey. So Paul chose Silas, while Barnabas continued with Mark and they went their separate ways. God blessed the ministry of all these men.

* * *

      It must have been a heartbreaking loss for Paul to break fellowship with his friend Barnabas, but soon after that Paul met another man with the gift of encouragement, Timothy. Paul would later say of him, "Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel"   (Philippians 2:22)

* * *

      Lord, sometimes we are saddened when believers disagree. But You are always faithful to provide the encouragement we need to keep going. Help us to trust in Your perfect provision and plan for our lives. 

* * *

      "For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church."
1 Corinthians 4:17 NKJV

A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES

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TO THE JEWS FIRST

Read: Acts 13:13–52

'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" Acts 13:47 NIV

* * *

Paul and Barnabas, led by the Holy Spirit, set out on a journey to Cyprus where they spoke in the synagogues. From there they traveled to Pisidian Antioch where the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak." (13:15)

Paul stood up and motioned with his hand, "Men of Israel and you Gentiles, who worship God, listen to me …We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus…" (13:16, 32-33a)

The people, eager to hear more, invited the apostles to speak the next Sabbath when almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. (13:44-45)

The desire for power in these men blinded them to the truth that their Messiah had come and offered them forgiveness of sin. By rejecting Him, they gave up the gift of eternal life.

* * *

Lord, I am so thankful that You offered that gift to us also, so that we could share the good news with others, both Jews and Gentiles.

* * *

"We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles." Acts 13:46b

UNEXPECTED ANSWER

KING HEROD'S PERSECUTION

Read Acts 12:1–24

     (King Herod) had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword… So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:2, 5 NIV

* * *

     On the last night before Peter's trial, the disciples gathered at John Mark's home to pray for his deliverance. What they did not expect, was that their prayers would be miraculously answered that very night. A young servant girl, Rhoda, came to answer the door, and when she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"
     "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." (12:14–15)

     While they tried to process what was happening, Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. (12:16)

* * *

     Lord, I wonder how many times I have prayed without really expecting an answer. It is a comfort to me that You worked this miracle, not because of the strength of their faith, but on the basis of Your Almighty power in answer to earnest prayer.

* * *

     …Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.   Acts 12:21–23 NIV