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

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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.

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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.

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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