“Acts 16:22-28”

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

“The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!’ And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’"

---End of Scripture verses---

Human exploitation never ceases to disgust me. In yesterday’s reading we learned about a young female slave who had a “spirit of divination” (verse 16). This was an age in which God allowed tremendous supernatural activity, including demon possession. And while this is an amazing and sometimes perplexing situation to read about, the thing that stands out most in my mind is that this girl’s master’s viewed her merely as a meal ticket. They were making a lot of money off the “gift” that she possessed (or that possessed her), and that’s really all they cared about. She was the subject of abuse from both the spiritual and human worlds and my heart goes out to this poor, young victim. I would love to know her life’s story from the time that Paul cast the demon out of her, but those details weren’t relevant to the Holy Spirit’s lessons for us. I like to think that she learned and obeyed the Gospel after the Apostle helped her out of her terrible predicament.

And Paul actually did help this young girl when he loosened her from the grip of one of Satan’s ministers, even though her masters were sorely displeased and caused quite an uproar over it. They dragged Paul and Silas into the city marketplace and incited the fury of the crowd gathered there, which prompted some of Philippi’s city officials to order them beaten with rods and thrown into the local prison (verses 19-23). So much for a fair and impartial trial! I’ve noticed that the mentality of our present culture is not much different than that of the pagan world nearly 2000 years ago. We, like they, are a culture consumed with outrage and obsessed with vengeance. Clothing, hairstyles, technologies change, but the human heart remains the same. “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Just like the heathens who walked the earth so many centuries before us, we need Jesus more than anything else to help us find peace and salvation and learn love and compassion for our fellowman.

Let’s learn the valuable lessons that Paul and Silas teach us from this dreadful experience that they endured together. Instead of feeling that all was lost and being consumed with anger and frustration and self-pity, these two godly men could be heard praying and joyfully singing praises to God, even as their feet were fastened in stocks in the interior of a dingy dungeon (verse 25). They still believed with all their hearts that God was in control, even when it seemed that their world might be spiraling out of control around them. Their faith didn’t allow their outward, physical circumstances to undermine their inner, spiritual peace. Please, friends, when the world has beaten you down and Satan has worked you over and you feel all alone and that all is lost, WORSHIP GOD! That is the time, more than ever, that you need to turn to the One who made you and knows you best and loves you most. Pray to God and sing praises to His holy Name. He will lift you out of the emotional abyss. Assemble with His saints as often as you can to pray to God and worship and praise Him, and to glean strength from His Christian warriors.

We are engaged in a battle of life and death, and Satan wants to destroy our lives and consume our souls. He brings the war to us every day, but we cannot fight him with convention or chemical weapons. If we try to we are bound to lose. This is a spiritual conflict and we must use the spiritual weaponry that God has equipped us with. And listen, WE MUST FIGHT BACK. We simple MUST put up a fight against our greatest enemy or we will become a casualty of war. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). So, armor up! Put on the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation and STAND FIRM (Ephesians 6:14-16). “Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15), and prepare for action. Grab your sword (the word of God), and hit your knees and pray (Ephesians 6:17-18). Muster with your fellow soldiers of faith and don’t dare try to fight this enemy alone. 

Satan hates a faithful, praying, worshiping child of God. He much rather prefers it when we are inactive and unwary. It’s time to take the battle to him. He is no match against our Almighty God. “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Get up. Get moving. Get studying. Get praying. Get worship. May God bless us and help us to do so.

Please read Acts 16:29-40 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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