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September 9 - Acts 16 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Tuesday, it's the 9th of
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  the 9th and we are well and truly into my favourite month of
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  the year, September. Isn't it glorious?
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  Oh, it's springtime, it's my birthday month, anniversary
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  month, Father's Day month. All the good things of the year
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  come to me in this one month. So I'm loving it and I hope
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  you're going well too. And we are getting back together
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  to get our heads together, dive back into God's word and hear
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  this continuing journey of the church building.
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  And we now firmly begin to enter the part of the book where we
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  follow Paul and Paul becomes the the main conduit that Luke
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  writes about as he tracks Jesus work building his church in this
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  this time and place. So let us continue as he goes
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  from place to place into prison, out of prison.
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  Oh, it's all happening. Let's read together Acts chapter
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  16. Paul went first to Derby and
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  then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy.
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  His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a
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  Greek. Timothy was well thought of by
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  the believers in Lystra and Iconium.
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  So Paul wanted him to join them on their journey in defence to
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  the Jews of the area. He arranged for Timothy to be
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  circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his
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  father was a Greek. Then they went from town to
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  town, instructing the believers to follow the decisions made by
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  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
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  So the churches were strengthened in their faith and
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  grew larger every day. Next, Paul and Silas travelled
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  through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit
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  had prevented them from preaching the Word in the
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  province of Asia at that time. Then, coming to the borders of
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  Mycia, they headed north for the province of Bethania.
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  But again, the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there.
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  So instead they went on through Mycia to the seaport of Troas.
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  That night Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia in northern
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  Greece was standing there pleading with him come over to
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  Macedonia and help us. So we decided to leave for
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  Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling
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  us to preach the good news there.
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  We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the
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  island of Samothras, and the next day we landed at Neapolis.
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  From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of
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  Macedonia and a Roman colony, and we stayed there several
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  days. On the Sabbath we went a little
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  way outside the city to a riverbank where we thought
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  people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak
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  with some women who had gathered there.
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  One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of
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  expensive purple cloth who worshipped God.
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  As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart and she
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  accepted what Paul was saying. She and her household were
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  baptised and she asked us to be her guests.
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  If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord, she said
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  come and stay at my home and she urged us until we agreed.
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  One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a
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  slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future.
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  She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes.
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  She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, these men, the
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  servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you
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  how to be saved. This went on day after day until
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  Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon
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  within her, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out
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  of her. And instantly it left her.
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  Her master's hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they
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  grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the
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  authorities at the marketplace. The whole city is in an uproar
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  because of these Jews. They shouted to the city
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  officials. They are teaching customs that
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  are illegal for us Romans to practise.
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  A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city
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  officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods.
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  They were severely beaten and they were thrown into prison.
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  The gaoler was ordered to make sure they didn't escape, so the
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  gaoler put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet
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  in the stocks. Around midnight, Paul and Silas
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  were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners
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  were listening. Suddenly there was a massive
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  earthquake and the prison was shaken to its foundations.
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  All the doors immediately flew open and the chains of every
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  prisoner fell off. The gaoler woke up to see the
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  prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had
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  escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself, but Paul shouted
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  to him, Stop, don't kill yourself, we are all here.
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  The gaoler called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down
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  trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and
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  asked Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
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  They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved
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  along with everyone in your household.
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  And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who
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  lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night,
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  the gaoler cared for them and washed their wounds.
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  Then he and everyone in his household were immediately
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  baptised. He brought them into his house
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  and set a meal before them. And he and his entire household
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  rejoiced because they all believed in God.
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  The next morning, the city officials sent the police to
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  tell the gaoler, let those men go.
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  So the gaoler told Paul, the city officials have said you and
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  Silas are free to leave, go in peace.
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  But Paul replied, they have publicly beaten us without a
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  trial and put us in prison, and we are Roman citizens.
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  So now they want us to leave secretly, certainly not let them
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  come themselves to release us. When the police reported this,
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  the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas
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  were Roman citizens. So they came to the gaol and
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  apologised to them. Then they brought them out and
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  begged them to leave the city. When Paul and Silas left the
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  prison, they returned to the home of Lydia.
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  There they met with the believers and encouraged them
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  once more than they left town. Jesus, you sure don't leave
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  things to chance. We're hearing this story that
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  your Spirit guides Paul and Silas to go in One Direction and
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  blocks him from going in other directions.
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  Oh, thank You that you take such a keen interest in your Kingdom
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  here on earth. Our Lord, as we go about our
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  days and we seek Your will, as we earnestly try to work out
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  what is your work that you want us to do to use our gifts and
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  our skills and our experiences to benefit your Kingdom.
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  Jesus, I pray that you open doors and I pray that you close
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  doors. And Holy Spirit, I pray that you
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  guide us in the direction that you have for us.
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  Give us your clarity so that we can truly live lives of service,
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  knowing that each step we take, we take in the power of your
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  spirit, embolden to go forth and do your good work and not
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  following the whims of what seems important day to day.
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  So we just recommit ourselves to you as living sacrifices, ready
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  to love and to serve you every single day.
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  We love you, Jesus, and we pray all of this in your powerful
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  name, Amen.