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Friday Devo

Scripture:

Acts 16
13 On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. 14 One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. 15 She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.

Commentary:

16:13 Philippi seems to have had no significant Jewish population. Like Lydia, the women who attended the prayer meeting may have been God-fearers and not Jews. At least three locations among the remains of Philippi have been suggested for this place of prayer.
16:14 Lydia came from Thyatira (cf. notes on Rev. 2:18–29), a city of the province of Asia in the district of Lydia, for which she may have been named. As a seller of purple goods, she would have had some wealth. (Thyatira was famous for its expensive purple dyes.) The Lord opened her heart. It is the supernatural work of God, not the wisdom or persuasiveness of the preacher, that ultimately draws people to Christ.
16:15 Lydia’s household likely included servants as well. Her house eventually became the gathering place for the Christians (v. 40).

Questions:

  • In chapter 16, the Lord opens Lydia's heart and she and her entire household turn to Jesus and were baptized. Her house would eventually become one of the churches. The Lord opened her heart and she became a Christian. Lydia opened her home and her house becomes a church. So far, through these past 15 verses or so, just look at all the different people God has been using: a strong leader, strong encourager, unfaithful John Mark, faithful Timothy who is not from a solid family, Dr. Luke, and now a very strong and successful businesswoman. The big idea from Sunday was that God can use every STORY for His GLORY. Even yours! What has God done in your life that He could use for His glory?

  • God opens your HEART to His Glory so that you will LIVE for His STORY! The faithful Jesus-follower has a heart for the mission and wants to be used by God. Take some time today in prayer and commit to God that you want to be used for His glory and His story, and reflect on this quote from John Stott: "Ambitions for self may be quite modest... Ambitions for God, however, if they are to be worthy, can never be modest. There is something inherently inappropriate about cherishing small ambitions for God. How can we ever be content that He should acquire just a little more honor in the world? No. Once we are clear that God is King, then we long to see Him crowned with glory and honor, and accorded His true place, which is the supreme place. We become ambitious for the spread of His kingdom and righteousness everywhere."

Prayer Topics:

  • That you would let God use your story for His glory. 
  • That you would become ambitious for His Kingdom. 

This Week's City 7:

Try to commit to memory! 

4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)

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