Midnight in the Jail
I am sure that I do not know what it is like to be in jail, but I don't believe it would be very comfortable at all. Then, add to that being beaten severely, and put in chains. That would be so very painful. However, when this happened to Paul and Silas in Philippi, they were praying out loud and singing hymns to God at midnight. The other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:23,25) This is a great lesson for all of us. Let's take a moment to consider all of the details of this scene in the Philippian jail.
Paul had cast a demon out of servant girl who told fortunes and made money for her masters. This got them thrown into prison. They had done nothing wrong. They simple did God's will. However, they suffered for their righteous actions. Their punishment was to be flogged severely and placed in chains in the innermost part of the jail. After all of that, we might think they would be tired and discouraged. However, they were praying and singing hymns to God when they could have been sleeping in the dark jail cell. This unusual behavior gained them an audience from the other prisoners and the jailer, too. What does this teach us? We will be persecuted for doing God's will. This could even be very painful. We could be put in jail, but we must not stop speaking up for the Lord. Then, when we are severely mistreated, we must continue to trust God so much that we pray and sing songs of joy to Him as a witness to those around us of the joy that resides in our hearts. Then, people will really be ready to hear about our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured even greater pain and death for us to have life. I pray we will follow the example of Paul and Silas, so the world may come to know Christ.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Acts 17-19.
Paul had cast a demon out of servant girl who told fortunes and made money for her masters. This got them thrown into prison. They had done nothing wrong. They simple did God's will. However, they suffered for their righteous actions. Their punishment was to be flogged severely and placed in chains in the innermost part of the jail. After all of that, we might think they would be tired and discouraged. However, they were praying and singing hymns to God when they could have been sleeping in the dark jail cell. This unusual behavior gained them an audience from the other prisoners and the jailer, too. What does this teach us? We will be persecuted for doing God's will. This could even be very painful. We could be put in jail, but we must not stop speaking up for the Lord. Then, when we are severely mistreated, we must continue to trust God so much that we pray and sing songs of joy to Him as a witness to those around us of the joy that resides in our hearts. Then, people will really be ready to hear about our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured even greater pain and death for us to have life. I pray we will follow the example of Paul and Silas, so the world may come to know Christ.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Acts 17-19.