Acts 16: 31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.
Paul traveled to Lystra where he met a young disciple by the name of Timothy, and he recruited him to present the guidelines that the Jerusalem apostles and leaders came up with. As they traveled to Phrygia and then on through the region of Galatia, the Spirit had redirected their journey through Macedonia. As their mission was redirected they knew for sure that God had called them to preach the good news to the Europeans. Along their journey they attended a prayer meeting where they met Lydia, a believer in Christ. They also met a slave girl who was a psychic. As a psychic she claimed that the men were working for the most high God and they were laying out the road of salvation for the people. Paul was annoyed by her continued claims and commanded the spirit that possessed her to leave her body in the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, the owners of the slave girl were no longer making money on her predictions. So they roughed up the men and drug them into the market Square where they were beaten, arrested, jailed and judged by the crowd. While in jail, Paul and Silas were in prayer and singing hymns to God. Then a mighty earthquake shook the earth and all the cell doors opened. The jailer thought all the prisoners had escaped and was going to take his own life, but Paul was there and saved the jailer’s life by letting him know that no one had escaped. The jailer was badly shaken and ran inside the jail by torchlight and collapsed in front of Paul and Silas’ cell. He wanted to know how to be saved and to truly live. They advised him to put his entire trust in Jesus and then he will live as he was meant to live, including everyone in his family. In the morning, Paul and Silas were released from prison.
Marlene Stutzman, EfM, Year 3
