Acts 16:6-24

Summary
Today’s reading gives an account of how Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia having being kept from traveling to the province of Asia and Bithynia. One night he had a vision of a man begging him to come over to Macedonian. After the vision they left for Macedonia. On the Sabbath, they went outside the city gate and began to speak to the women who had gathered there and one of the women’s name was Lydia a believer in the Lord from Thyatira who is a dealer in purple clothes invited them to her home.
One day, on their way to the place of prayer, they met a female servant who earned a great deal of money for her owners by predicting the future followed Paul and the others shouting that they were the servants of the most high, Paul got angry and commanded the spirit to come out of her. When the Owners realised that their means of making wealth has been taking away they caused an uproar that made the authorities to flog and put Paul and Silas in the cell

Life Application
There are some events that will happen in our lives that will look like God but we need to discern by the help of the Holy Spirit the direction He wants us to move. Whether it’s changing your job, starting a new business or addressing a crucial conversation; it’s important we know when God is speaking to us and the time to make that move.

Personal Declaration
I will be attentive to the voice of the spirit in Jesus name.

Reading – Acts 16:6-24

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

⁶ Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. ⁷ When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. ⁹ During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

¹¹ From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. ¹² From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district^[a] of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

¹³ On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. ¹⁵ When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶ Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” ¹⁸ She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

¹⁹ When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. ²⁰ They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar ²¹ by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. ²³ After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴ When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Footnotes:

1. Acts 16:12 The text and meaning of the Greek for the leading city of that district are uncertain.