THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 38

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Day 38:  The Jailer, Paul, and Silas (Acts 16: 25-34)

Beaten and thrown into prison, chained by their ankles in the stocks, Paul and Silas began to pray aloud and sing praises to their God.  So loud were their prayers and praise, there was no one in the jail who did not hear their worship.  But the earthquake turned their concert of praise into screams of terror from their captive audience.  The violent shaking caused the foundations of the old jail to shift, and all the doors came unlatched.  Even the chains that held the prisoners to their cell walls broke loose. 

Awakened by the deafening and frightening sounds, the jailer arose to see an even more terrifying sight.  Having been charged to securely guard Paul and Silas, he knew that he would surely be killed for allowing the prisoners to escape.  Pulling the sword from its sheath at his side, the jailer was determined to end his own life; thus, he would avoid embarrassment.  With his sword poised, a tear ran down his cheek as he contemplated the shame his own family would surely endure.  But at that very moment, a shout rang out through the chambers of the jail.  “Do not harm yourself!  We are here!”  Calling for lights to be able to see and running into Paul and Silas’ cell, the jailer fell at the feet of the two. Hugging their feet, he wept for joy and relief that they had not fled.  

Something truly awesome had happened that night—things in the spiritual realm that the jailer had never before experienced.  Turning to his prisoners, he pleaded with them to tell him how he might be saved, for surely their God was the God he wanted to know.  They told him simply that he must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.   Trusting their testimony, he confessed his faith.  No longer caring what might happen to him, the jailer invited these Christian brothers to his home for a meal, these men who had once been his wards.  He took care of their wounds while Paul and Silas told his whole family how they too could be saved.

How do you react to the suffering and trials that come into your life?  Do you receive them from the hand of God?  Do you find ways to praise Him in the midst of your storms?  Or do you ask “why” and throw yourself a gigantic pity party?  Who might you influence, even to the point of salvation, with a testimony of praise and worship while you are being tested?

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 4

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Day 4 -- Zacharias' Disbelief (Luke 1: 1-23, 59-64)

Zacharias entered the temple once again.  It was time to light the incense on the altar, and the crowd was already gathered outside to lift their prayers to the Lord.  Oh, how he loved fulfilling his priestly duties.  To him lighting the incense was another way to serve the Lord by worshiping and praising the Lord in and through his service.  His greatest desire was to walk blamelessly with his God and to live out the commandments and requirements of his covenant with God.  Today would not be much different than any other.  He knew that he must surely lift his own praises to God, as well as the praise of his entire people.  But his heart was heavy with another matter—his wife’s barren womb.  Despite his deep longing, Zacharias began his time of worship.  Never, in all his days, would he expect to see what  happened next!

There before him, just to the right of the altar, stood an angel of the Lord.  “Your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.”  He couldn’t believe it.  He and Elizabeth, a child?  Their advanced years indicated otherwise.

“What will be the sign that it will happen?” Zacharias ventured.  Little did he know that his unbelief had just been revealed in his request for a sign.   Now Zacharias would live in silence.  How long, he did not know.  Committed to fulfill his priestly duties, he continued to light the incense, but his prayers were confined in a mind that struggled to believe.  When his priestly commitment in the temple was completed, he returned home to wait for the birth of his son.

With the typical rejoicing that surrounds a birth, John entered the world, and as was the custom, he was named and circumcised on the 8^th day.  What Zacharias learned in his months of silence was revealed when he was asked what the child’s name would be.  Writing on a tablet, his obedience and new faith were displayed.  “His name is John.”  Belief in the God of the impossible transformed the heart of Zacharias.   Little did he know his promised son would be a cousin of the Messiah, that John would baptize Him, and also hear God say, “This is My Beloved Son.”

What is your “barren womb?”  He’s still the God of the impossible!  (vs. 37)