Acts 17:1-9 Paul Visits Thessalonica; Church Founded There

Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.  And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,  explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”  And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.  But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also;  and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.  And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

The Word of God causes a stir in the hearts of sinful men; some for the better and some for the worse.  To those who seek salvation in their own deeds, Jesus causes resentment and violence.  To those who recognize their own sins and the need for a Savior, those are received as the sons of God. A non-repentant sinner would rather serve a task-master (Caesar) than be delivered by a Savior.  It will be this way until Christ returns at the end of the age of grace.

Daily Prayer:  Lord, why do we seek to live a part from You when You went to the Cross for the sake of reconciliation? I know I am a sinner in need of a Savior and I thank God for the gospel that forgives my sins and sets aside my infirmities.  Let us tell our story to the world so that some may believe.  In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Acts 16:35-40 Paul Released From Prison

 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul,saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.”  The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,  and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city.  They went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

Paul used his dual citizenship to his advantage.  On the one hand he is a 
citizen by birth, having been born in Tarsus, a Roman territory.  On the
other hand, he is a Jew, born of the tribe of Benjamin.  Having been beaten
as a citizen of Rome gives him cause to appeal his case to Caesar.  And this
is what he will do.  He does this to fulfill his charge by Jesus to make Christ's
name known and to preach the gospel to the gentiles and to their kings.

Daily Prayer:  Lord, in this world their is suffering and persecution.  Let us keep faithful to You by bringing Your name before men so that You will bring our name to Your Father who is in heaven.  I pray this in Jesus name Amen.

Acts 16:16-29 Paul and Silas in Prison

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.  She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”  She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.  They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar  by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”he crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.  After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.  When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.  But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

People who serve God will be at odds with the people of the world who know not the power of the risen Christ.  Because Paul cast out an evil spirit in the fortune teller, for the sake of money they placed Christ's evangelists in prison.
But they learned that the prison could not hold the servants of C hist  For this reason, an earthquake was sent to this very place to loose the men of God.
Yet Paul and his companion did not escape.  As we will see, Paul was going to use this platform to get him to Rome itself and bring a church there.

Daily Prayer:  Lord, miracles happen every day, and most times we don't recognize them.  Give us the vision to see Your work and bring the many profitable things You place before us and use them to grow Your Kingdom. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Acts 16:11-15 First Convert to Christ in Europe

So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis;  and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days.  And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

The work for Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles had begun.  Paul and his missionary companions will go throughout the Roman Empire which is a place that has broken many foreign religions before Paul as seeing them as a threat to the Caesar.  This is the first of  three missionary journeys that will take Paul ultimately to Rome herself where Paul will ultimately give up his life for Christ's name sake and will pass the leadership to the church who will be holding fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ which continues to this very day.

Daily Prayer:  The gospel of Jesus Christ:  Believe in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross and you will be saved.  By grace you have been saved by faith and not from works.  It is a gift of God and not of man, so that nobody can boast.  Amen.

Acts 16:6-10 The Macedonian Vision

And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrian s, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen.But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

It was in Macedonia where Paul would be introduced to an important person in the growth.  At the time, Paul had become ill with a fever, and a man appeared before him that would give him medical attention He was a wondering physician from Macedonia named Luke.  Now Luke was a Greek, one of those Paul was called to minister to.  He spent a great amount of time with Paul, Barnabas, Peter, Mark, and James.  Luke was not a eye=witness to the work of Jesus Christ, but it seems that Father-God and His Son Jesus Christ have great use for intelligent and thoughtful men and women.  Luke became a historian in addition to a physician and stayed with Paul to the end and later wrote the Gospel of Luke.

Lord Jesus, just as Luke was available for service by You, make us the same way where we can share our time, talents, and treasure for the good of Your Kingdom. In Your holy name I pray Amen.

Acts 15:1-12 The Council at Jerusalem

Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”  And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren.  When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”The apostles and the elders came together to ^[b]look into this ^[c]matter.  After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.  And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;  and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.  Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

This is the beginning of the New Covenant.  Yes, the Jews have a covenant with God and He made requirements of His covenant people which include circumcision.  But God did not make this same covenant with the gentiles, but because of the Cross, by faith they can be saved.  The gospel message then becomes for everyone, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross and you will be saved.  It does not imply that gentiles should adopt Jewish Law, because if it did, it would imply that Christ alone is not enough.  But instead it does recognize that the sole reason for Christ's coming is that many my be brought to faith.  

Daily Prayer:  Lord, let us not try to earn salvation by works of the flesh, because those are dead. Instead, let us inherit eternal life by trust You with our lives so that we may live out our lives in You and be saved.  In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Acts 14:6-20 Paul Stoned At Lystra

At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked.  This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well,  said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk.  When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.”  And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.  The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.  But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out  and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.  In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways;  and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”  Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.  But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derby.

Paul's calling by the Lord Jesus was to make His name known by the gentiles and their kings.  Jesus' warning of Paul, he will suffer much for My name's sake.  Paul's equipping, the presence of Lord Jesus and the ennoblement to work signs and wonders.  Paul's work at Lystra, convincing many there by restoring a cripple from birth.  The Jews reaction -  They stoned him and accused him of blasphemy, all rooted in their own pride.   Paul needed to persevere through his persecution because the calling from Jesus was great and to him, his sacrifice was small in comparison to the glory of Jesus.

Daily Prayer:  Lord, let present day Christians come to know Your glory as Paul did.  Let us come to understand Your everlasting riches and profound wisdom and make it know to the people of my time.
Give us boldness to proclaim Your Name.  Amen.