Acts 16:16-40:
"One
day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl
who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot
of money for her masters by telling fortunes. She followed Paul and the
rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and
they have come to tell you how to be saved."
This
went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and
said to the demon within her, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ
to come out of her." And instantly it left her.
Her
masters' hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and
Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. "The
whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!" they shouted to the
city officials. "They are teaching customs that are illegal for us
Romans to practice."
A
mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials
ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely
beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered
to make sure they didn't escape. So the jailer put them into the inner
dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
Around
midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the
other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive
earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors
immediately flew opened, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The
jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the
prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul
shouted to him, "Stop! Don't kill yourself! We are all here!"
The
jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling
before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?"
They
replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with
everyone in your household. And they shared the word of the Lord with
him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the
night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and
everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them
into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire
household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, "Let those men go!"
So the jailer told Paul, "The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace."
But
Paul replied, "They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us
in prison - and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave
secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!"
When
the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that
Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. So they came to the jail and
apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave
the city. When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the
home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them
once more. Then they left town."
Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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