 |
Home | Mission Statement | Video Gallery | Audio Gallery | Photo Gallery | Daily Manna | Testimonies | | Links | Contact us |
 |
For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
 |
| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Conversion of Lydia Bible Verse:Acts 16:11-15 (ESV) "So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. " Message:
Paul makes his way to a Roman colony, Philippi. We are not told why he doesn’t go to a synagogue — perhaps there was not one — but he finds a place he “supposes” is a place of prayer. Nor are we told whether the women gathered there are Gentile or Jewish. In fact, almost everything we know about Lydia is inferential. She was in the business of making purple dye and was successful enough to have a household. No husband is mentioned, so her invitation to strange men to stay with her seems bold.
It seems that she was one of the non-Jewish worshippers of “God” much like Cornelius (the centurion) had been. The Spirit opens her heart to salvation and, again like Cornelius, she confesses Christ as her Lord on the spot. She is known as Paul’s first recorded convert to Christianity in what we call “Europe” today.
The authorship of the Acts of the Apostles has never been definitively established. A man named Luke, who is probably Luke the Evangelist, is the most popular choice. But remember, in the previous verses we see a switch from third to first person; that is, the writer says “they came down to Troas” in Acts 16:8, but just two verses later, in Acts 16:10, writes “we sought to go into Macedonia.”
The change from “they” to “we” occurs in Troas, and there are two leading theories about it. First, there is evidence that Luke was from Troas, and if so, we might imagine that he just joined the party. However, we are sure that Timothy joined the group in Troas. So in this passage, we might be reading the travel diary of Timothy himself!
The names of the places visited on Paul’s second journey are becoming a bit confusing by now. In broad terms, today’s passage recounts that Paul and his troupe sailed from Turkey to northern Greece. It was a trip of 150 miles in a rickety wooden ship. (See Map of Paul’s Second Journey.)
Note the city of Philippi. It is the church founded here to which Paul will later write the long letter that will become part of the New Testament, the Epistle to the Philippians.
Meditation : Prayer : May the God of endurance and encouragement grant us to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.........Amen |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
