- About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25 – Talk about having a change in mindset in your life situations. See, the reason Paul and Silas had the ear of the prisoners wasn’t because they were doing some amazing prison ministry on the weekends, it was because they were fellow prisoners right alongside them. Things weren’t going good for those two. They just got beaten, imprisoned, and all for what? Being faithful and preaching the gospel. My question to you is how often in your times of struggle is your response praising God and singing to Him? We see how this attitude of Paul and Silas had a large spiritual impact on those around Him and so will your attitude of praise. As easy as it is to be overwhelmed by the struggles, know how we live in those struggles is also a part of our witness. When others watch your life during the hard times, are they moved towards trusting in God more themselves? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac
- The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. Acts 16:14b – What we see here is that God was working in the life and heart of this lady, then when He opened her heart, she’s was able to truly hear the life giving message Paul was sharing. So for you within your efforts to share the Good News, don’t let yourself be caught in the spiral of exhaustion and discouragement because you’re not seeing the change happening in the lives your sharing the message to. Know God is using you and is still working in the hearts of those you’re speaking to. God is asking us to stay faithful in our efforts because He is staying faithful in His. He is working constantly within their lives and hearts to open them up to Him and He is offering us a chance to be a part of that. Don’t let discouragement keep you from all that. Keep sharing and be ready for the time when God begins opening hearts in front of you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac
- Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Acts 16:3 – In our freedom we have in Christ, we may let go of things to help our witness along. See Paul didn’t do this to Timothy to help in Timothy’s salvation somehow, he did this because he knew Timothy would have a better chance at teaching the Jews and having them listen to what Timothy was saying if he did. We too might have to let go of parts of our life in order to have a better witness. Maybe that means not smoking so people aren’t turned off by that or not wearing a suit and tie at church to seem more approachable. Remember, these aren’t things that are at all a part of your salvation process, but they are things we can change in order to be the best we can be and have the highest rate of success in spreading the Good News of Jesus. Remember the mission isn’t to make you look like a good Christian, but to make disciples. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 645
- About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them…Acts 16:25 – After freeing a young lady from a demon possession, and after being dragged into a marketplace to be falsely accused, and after being stripped and beaten with rods, and after being locked in prison, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to the Lord. What I love though so much is that last phrase, “and the prisoners were listening to them.” I have written in by Bible next to this verse this note, “Whether from a pulpit or prison, your life and witness impacts those around you.” You must realize how you live your life today is going to be witness somehow to others about Jesus. You may be speaking from a pulpit at church, you may be checking out groceries at Walmart, you may be sending an email to a coworker, or you may be on the floor playing with your kids, but if you are carrying the name of Jesus then everything you do and say is giving off some sort of message about Jesus and who He is. People need to know that Jesus is loving, powerful, good, and forgiving. Do you feel like the people around you yesterday got that understanding of Jesus from your life? If while shackled in prison Paul and Silas could be a good witness for Jesus, then wherever we find ourselves today we too can be a good witness. Set yourself a goal that people with more properly understand the God of scripture because of your life today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2542
Daily DEVO 