14 day plan

Women of the Bible You Need to Meet

Day 13 of 14

CSB

Acts 16:14-15

14A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. 15After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Reflection:  Lydia

For further reading see Acts 16:11-40

Lydia is the founding member of the Philippian church. She is also considered the first European convert. The church at least initially seems to be based in her house (Acts 16:15, 40). She is a dealer in purple cloth. Purple was an expensive dye at the time, so this suggests she is a merchant of luxury items. She has no husband or father mentioned, so it seems likely she was a wealthy woman who ran her own household. Paul travels into Macedonia because of a vision, and there converts Lydia. God seems to have guided the travel and the meeting. Lydia is a really useful convert. She had property, a business and standing. Lydia didn’t hesitate in putting her many resources into building Christ’s church. Some look too highly on those with worldly privilege, while others resent them. But Lydia shows that a follower of Christ uses that privilege for him.

Question:  What privileges and resources do you have that you could put at Christ’s service?

Prayer:  Lord, all I have is from you. Help me acknowledge that in how I use what you have given. Amen.

© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

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Acts 16:1-40

Paul Selects Timothy

1Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. 2The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him. 3Paul wanted Timothy to go with him; so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for the people to observe. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

Evangelization of Europe

6They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8Passing by Mysia they went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision in which a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!” 10After he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion

11From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony and a leading city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days. 13On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there. 14A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. 15After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. 17As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” 18She did this for many days.

Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away.

19When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews 21and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.” 22The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23After they had severely flogged them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to guard them carefully. 24Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.

A Midnight Deliverance

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.

28But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we’re all here!”

29The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.” 32And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. 33He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. 34He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.

An Official Apology

35When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men.”

36The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.”

37But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.”

38The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town. 40After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia’s house, where they saw and encouraged the brothers and sisters, and departed.

© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers