Image from Eradio Valverde, Jr.
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9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. (Acts 16:9-15 NRSV)
In 2019, a group of friends from our church in Gonzales, Texas, were blessed to visit Greece in a tour called In The Footsteps of the Apostle Paul, and one of our stops was at the place mentioned in verses 13-15. We saw the river where Lydia and others had gathered to worship God and Paul shares the gospel with them and they were baptized, with Lydia becoming the first European to become a Christian. This painting is inside a beautiful temple of the Eastern Orthodox Church; where Lydia and Paul hold revered places.
The Apostle Paul had his heart changed in the most direct way; Jesus knocking him off his horse and asking him by name why he was persecuting Him. In a telephone conversation from a former seminary roommate and dear friend we were talking about his years in the Perkins Seminary Singers, who toured during the off-days like spring break and they were a huge two-bus choir, where the buses were divided as the saints bus and the sinners bus; the difference being sinners could smoke. Yes, it was that long ago! But he did remember the song where they had to whisper the lines "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" As he said the lines he confessed it still gave him goosebumps as he said them again. Imagine the way Saul reacted? Evidentially, after his time in prayer and fasting, Paul's heart was open to Jesus and his new destiny was revealed. Do you think the zealous Pharisee prosecutor imagined becoming one of the persecuted? I highly doubt it. And given his position and privilege there in Jerusalem; that he would travel the known world for the sake of Jesus? What has always gotten my attention was that during his time with Jesus for those three days the Lord revealed to him most things including the way that he would die. The Lord also revealed to him the joys of his work and that set the man's heart on fire for evangelizing the world.
Even in his dreams, the apostle hears from God through a vision of a man in Macedonia who stood and begged Paul to come to Macedonia and assist them. That was all he needed for him to set in motion a tour of the Macedonia region with the good news of Jesus Christ, and in that tour he meets Lydia and the women of that area, setting the stage to make Europe a Christian continent.
Paul's obedience and willingness to open his heart to the opportunities of God made possible the conversion of Lydia and so many others. Lydia’s conversion was not dramatic in outward signs, but deeply powerful in its simplicity. A heart opened, a household baptized, and a new home for the Gospel was born. Her story reminds us that God's work often begins with quiet, willing hearts and unexpected people. She was not a preacher, but her hospitality and faith helped establish the Philippian church—one of Paul’s most beloved communities.
We often think of God’s call as something loud, urgent, or grand. But here we see that faithfulness often starts with a quiet "yes" -- yes to listening, yes to opening our homes, yes to offering what we have for God's use.
Lydia’s riverbank moment became a turning point in the story of Christianity in Europe. Who knows what God will do with your next “yes”?
PRAYER: God of quiet invitations, Thank You for the ways You call us—through visions, voices, and the gentle nudging of Your Spirit. Open our hearts like You opened Lydia’s. Help us listen eagerly, respond faithfully, and offer our lives for Your purposes. May we be people who welcome others, who nurture faith, and who believe that no act of obedience is too small in Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Be attentive to the quiet invitations of God today. Say yes to listening. Say yes to hospitality. And say yes to being part of something far greater than you can see.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
