Jailhouse Rock

PASSAGE OF THE DAY:
Acts 16 (click the link)


KEY VERSE:
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:22-25, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
Wow! What a chapter! Acts 16 is so fun to read, especially if you really try to enter into the story. When you read a narrative like this, let it play in your mind like a movie, imagining the various scenes as vividly as you can. What were they wearing… what were the roads like? What was it like to be traveling to a town, and just as they are about to enter, “the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to”? How did they know?

Can you picture Paul’s vision of the man of Macedonia begging him to come? Can you see in your mind’s eye the conversion of Lydia down by the river, then her baptism along with her entire household? What about the casting out of the spirit of divination from the slave girl—now that would be quite a scene!

And the mob activity that followed: dragging the servants of Jesus into the market to be flogged and imprisoned, their feet shackled to the wall. Then the glorious picture of the prison doors opening and the salvation of the jailer and his family!

If you take the time to use your imagination, a passage like this can really come to life! But here’s the part that intrigues me the most: 

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:22-25, NIV)

In a chapter full of miraculous events (demon cast out, prison doors open, hearts set free by the gospel, Holy Spirit inspired vision, etc), the reaction of Paul and Silas might be the most stunning of them all. I have always been awe-struck by their response to flogging and imprisonment. And this was no easy flogging (if there is such a thing!) but a “severe flogging.” Their backs were bruised and bloodied, covered in open wounds. And this was no ordinary jail cell. They were in the “inner cell” (think dungeon) with their “feet in the stocks.”

And what were they doing? Praying and singing hymns to God! Wow! In a time when it would be easy to wallow in self-pity, to question the goodness of God, to question the fairness of life, to rage against their ungodly captors… they are turning their hearts to God in prayer and worship! No wonder the other prisoners were listening to them. I’m sure the other inmates were used to hearing curses and hatred spewed from the dungeon, not praises to God!

Whatever miracles we may or may not see in our lives, this is one we can all participate in—to have our “inner-man” so transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit that we can freely choose to love and worship God in the midst of personal pain and injustice. Paul and Silas were enjoying the Kingdom of Heaven while shackled in a dungeon! Though under the control of the authorities, their hearts were controlled by God. They were walking “in the heavenlies” as one of my old friends likes to put it.

One last thought… I am struck by the constant danger the early Christians faced. Sometimes I can think that following Christ will lead me to the safest, most prosperous, pain-free route available, but I got that idea from modern church, not the Bible. For the sake of the Kingdom and because of the reality of the battle, we will often find ourselves in difficult situations as we follow Jesus, just like the saints of old. But we are “more than conquerors” because “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.” Be so encouraged today: even if circumstances do not turn out for you personally as you would prefer, we are never separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus for us! And that gives us reason to sing, even from the dungeon.


PRAYER:
May we become so immersed in the presence of God, so captured by the activity of His Spirit, so fearless in the face of danger and uncertainty, so confident in the provision and mercy of our Lord, that we can enjoy the reign of God in our lives regardless of the circumstance… and be used by God to bring His kingdom (His loving rule and reign) to those around us.


WHO AM I?
My name is Greg Bland. Outside of times with my family, my greatest memories in life are from mission trips.

• Playing with Laotian orphans in Boston
• Getting the rental minivan stuck in the sand in Bahia de Kino, then the Lord using that episode to lead me and Sky to find a beautiful place to stay for the orphans from Juarez
• Getting the big 15-passenger van stuck on the beach in Kino and watching Max walk out to the end of the jetty to worship God as the sun set
• Joining 50 men from PRF to build a school/church at Casa de la Nueva Vida and provide a better home for Sergio
• Seeing Richard Quick teach an Indian boy to swim while sharing his faith with the young man
• Watching Hailey and Ben pass out glasses to the untouchable caste in India
• Cutting the pant legs off of Jordan after he stepped into the “latrine” during a revival meeting in a remote village of India
• Seeing our PRF teens selflessly serve the homeless all day in Denver, then joyfully play all evening together
• Hearing of the powerful outbreak of the Holy Spirit among our youth group one evening in Oak Island

Because Tres will flog me for going over my word limit again, I will stop here. But I have dozens and dozens and dozens of vivid, wonderful memories of serving Jesus while on mission with others. Let’s make more.