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16 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. 17 While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." 18 She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews 21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe." 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." 29 The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. 34 He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. (Acts 16:16-34 NRSV)
HAPPY Wednesday! May God's grace be sufficient for you, dear Friend! May this truly be the day the Lord has made and may we rejoice and be glad in it! Seek to bless the Lord and His people in all that you say, think and do! Update on Rev. Dana Hamilton: She's been in Cedar Park Regional Hospital and may go home today (Tuesday). Please continue to pray for her.
Evil is real and it is everywhere, usually taking shortcuts to making money or making people uneasy. In this passage, Paul and Silas encounter two men who were making easy money with a slave girl who was possessed by a demon that allowed her to predict the future. A funny but sad story I heard while a district superintendent from another district was a pastor who was unhappy in his appointment so he ran up an $800 phone bill for calling 1-800 psychic hotline wanting to know where he was going to be sent after this unhappy church! The slave girl knew who Paul and Silas were saying, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." Wow! And every time she saw them she would repeat that statement to the point it annoyed Paul and he turned and said to the spirit, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." Bam! Out! But that also meant the money-making hustle was over. No bueno for the evil men who owned her. The men grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the magistrates and announced that they were disturbing the city and that they were Jews and also advocating "customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe." Ouch! Evil but smart in manipulation. They used the right hate words and the other citizens joined in attacking Paul and Silas, and soon these two believers were stripped of their clothing and were ordered to be beaten with rods. Then they were thrown into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them locked up. Theyh are placed in the innermost part of the jail and had their feet placed in stocks.
At midnight, when most people are sleeping, Paul and Silas were in worship/praise mode. They were singing hymns of praise and praying to God, and this had the attention of the other prisoners. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors of the jail were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened! This woke up and scared the jailer, so much so he drew a sword to kill himself, for the Roman law stated that he needed to die because a Roman prisoner escaped. But Paul, knowing the law, shouted at him to stop for no one hd escaped. The jailer calls for lights and saw that indeed no one had escaped so he asks what he had to do be saved. The example of Paul and Silas had an impact on this jailer, and so after the word is shared with them, they asked to be baptized, and the entire family was baptized. He had Paul and Silas over for supper and the passage ends with the phrase, "and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God." Amen. God specializes in breaking chains. Sometimes they’re physical. Sometimes emotional. Often spiritual. But always, when we choose to worship—even in our hardest moments—God moves, and others take notice.
PRAYER: Lord, when I feel bound by fear, pain, or uncertainty, teach me to sing. Help me trust that Your power is greater than any prison I face. Let my faith be a light to those around me, and may my life echo the good news that You are still breaking chains today. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: When you find yourself in a difficult place, worship anyway. Your song might just be the spark that sets someone else free.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
