Occupied with the Word

Today’s reading is Acts 18.

I want people to find me the way Timothy and Silas found Paul. When they arrived in Corinth, they found him “occupied with the word” (Acts 18:5, ESV). Of course, for Paul, that looked like “testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.” However, I’m thinking even more broadly than evangelism. I’m told another possible translation for the word represented by “occupied” is “absorbed in.” Wow! What a relationship with the Word. Like a sponge absorbed in water, Paul was absorbed in God’s Word. Because he was absorbed in and occupied with the Word, he couldn’t help talking about it to others. Paul was in the Word. The Word was in Paul. Therefore, the Word is what came out of Paul. I know I have a long way to go, but I want that kind of relationship with the Word. This is one of the reasons what we are doing right here is so important. Being absorbed in and occupied with the Word begins with reading it, reading it regularly, reading it continually. Let’s keep it up.

Tomorrow’s reading is Acts 18.

Asked to Leave the City

Today’s reading is Acts 16.

The city magistrates apologized to Paul and Silas for their unlawful treatment. Then they asked them to leave their city. Their response is one of the most shocking to me in the whole book of Acts. They did go visit Lydia and the new disciples. They did encourage them. But then they left. I can’t help but think of Jesus after He delivered the Gerasene man from the demons that inhabited him (Luke 8:26-39) . The people of that town were also greatly afraid. They also asked Jesus to leave. Jesus also complied. However, He left the newly delivered man to go tell all his family and friends what the Lord had done for him. Do you think that may have been part of Paul’s encouragement to Lydia and the brethren? We know the church there grew. Paul later wrote a letter to them because of their effective work in supporting him. From both Jesus and Paul we learn that we do not always have to “stay and fight.” Sometimes it is better to leave. However, always encourage those we leave behind to share with others what the Lord has done for them. What has the Lord done for you? When is the last time you shared it with someone?

Next week’s reading is Acts 17.

A Dual Citizenship

Today’s reading is Acts 16.

Paul is a citizen of heaven. Philippians 3:20 says so: “But our citizenship is in heaven…” Yet, in Acts 16:37 he declares he and Silas are citizens of Rome. Christians have a dual citizenship. I am a citizen of heaven. I am also a citizen of the United States of America. As such, Paul was able to enjoy the rights and privileges of Roman citizenship. When his Roman rights were violated, he was able to seek legal recourse. That is exactly what he does here in Philippi. In an interesting twist, after having been falsely accused of urging Philippians to act in ways “unlawful for us as Romans to accept or practice,” the magistrates acted in a way that was unlawful for Romans to accept or practice. They beat uncondemned Roman citizens and threw them in jail. Paul seeks recourse. When we face persecution or treatment, especially from governing authorities, that violates our rights and privileges as citizens of our country, we are allowed to seek redress and recourse through legal means. We will have to put up with persecution and trouble. Often, there will be little we can do about it. However, we are allowed to use the rights and privileges of our earthly citizenship to our advantage and to the advantage of Christ’s kingdom as well.

Tomorrow’s reading is Acts 16.

A Gentile at the Place of Prayer

Today’s reading is Acts 16.

In order to have a synagogue, a town was to have at least 10 Jewish males. Apparently, Philippi did not meet the qualifications. But Paul was not to be deterred from his modus operandi of speaking first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. He went outside the gate to the riverside because he supposed a place of prayer would be there. My understanding is due to certain washing rituals, Jews would often have places of prayer by a local body of water. This explains Paul’s assumption. And it paid off. Sure enough, there was a Jewish place of prayer. Several women had come. However, who responded to the gospel? Lydia. Guess what. Lydia is a Gentile. The phrase for “worshiper of God” in the ESV is used in Acts exclusively to refer to devout, God-fearing, worshipers among the Gentiles (the only exception is Acts 19:27 where it refers to Gentiles worshiping Artemis). Lydia is basically a female Cornelius. Like Cornelius, she and her household, having heard the gospel, were all baptized into Christ. This may explain her statement about “If you have judged me faithful to the Lord.” As a Gentile God-fearer, perhaps a proselyte, she would still be a bit of an outsider at that place of prayer. But now she is on the inside of the newly established community of Christ. What a wonderful day for Lydia, for Gentile Christians, for the kingdom.

Tomorrow’s reading is Acts 16.