Bible In A Year | Read: Acts 16
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 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. 27 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. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.Acts 16:25-32
Overview of Chapter
At the end of chapter 15, we are told that Paul and Barnabas went their separate ways to again travel around spreading the message of Jesus. Paul teams up with Silas, and we will be reading about their travels through chapter 18. They return to cities Paul visited before. Paul’s plan was to continue to preach in the region we call Turkey, but God directed him to Macedonia, which is on the Greek Peninsula. In Philippi, Paul again starts his ministry with Jews, but because there are so few Jews in Philippi, they don’t even have a synagogue. This means Paul’s ministry is now going to almost exclusively involve Gentiles. In Philippi, Paul and Silas are arrested but have a great opportunity to lead their jailer to Jesus before they are released.
The simplicity of Paul’s message to the jailer is a great favorite. The message is simple, but believing in Jesus, for many, is not so simple. We don’t need to complicate the message. Our challenge should be for people to trust Jesus for the forgiveness of their wrongdoing.
Action Steps
Bible: What is God showing me? What am I going to do about it?
Bless: Serve one person through word, action, or gift today.
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