Acts 16:16-34
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. 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.” 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. 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. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” 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. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. Acts 16:16-34 (NIV)
As I often do when reading my assigned Bible verses and contemplating which “path” to take in compiling my devotion, Acts 16:16-34 provided a number of “paths” to consider. What happened to the female slave after Paul ordered the spirit to leave her? What or Who kept the other prisoners from escaping after their chains came loose? Were any of the prisoners moved to ask for forgiveness and to be saved? How did the jailer carry out his duties with respect to his treatment of prisoners after being saved?
Think of a time when you failed in managing an important duty/responsibility. What were the consequences for that failure? For the jailer, if Paul and the other prisoners had escaped, the jailer would have been in grave danger. According to Roman law, guards were punished severely, even by death, if they failed to keep prisoners in custody.
In my banking career, I think back on two key instances where I failed, but like the jailer was saved. While I wasn’t saved to the same extent as the jailer, through baptism and God’s saving grace, the grace of my manager, or other key officers in the organization, allowed me to either retain my position, or to accept a position that better aligned with my experience and skills. That grace was also dependent on me making changes in my interactions with my co-workers, or returning to a position in my previous department, and a return to that salary level.
So, how do those career situations relate to my faith life? I continue to grow in my faith, but I know I fail daily in living up to God’s expectations for me to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and His love for all. And like those career situations, I know I need to make changes that will enable me to “step” closer to God and His plans for me. One of the failures I focus on is that I don’t ask others whether they attend a church, and if they don’t, to attend church with me. Another area of my faith life where I fail is meeting with those who don’t share my views on today’s cultural issues, which are a divisive factor in our country. While the jailer needed to ask Paul what he must do to be saved, I know what it is I must do to be saved. As Paul stated to the jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus.”
Questions for Reflection:
- When you failed in managing an important duty/responsibility, how did you react to the consequences?
- What did you do to recover from the consequences?
- How do you reconcile, knowing that belief in the Lord Jesus is “The Way” to being saved, with thoughts that being saved should also include doing good works?
Prayer:
Father in heaven, I Thank You for the blessings you have bestowed on me. When I feel “chained and imprisoned” by the challenges of this earthly world, help me to remember to turn to you in prayer for strength and to look to you for the path to follow. I pray that You will inspire me to invite others to attend church to hear Your Gospel. I also ask that You guide me to not only accept those I believe speak and act contrary to Jesus’ command from Matthew 22:39, that "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," but also to love them.
In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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