A New Congregation is Formed

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

March 18, 2021

A New Congregation is Formed

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.

Acts 16:14

Read: Acts 16:11-24       

Philippi was a Roman colony, named for the father of Alexander the Great, and a crossroads of various cultures. Lydia was from Thyatira, about two hundred forty miles from Philippi. She was living in Philippi, and after receiving Jesus as her savior, she invited Paul and his companions to come and stay at her house. Later, after Paul and Silas are released from jail, they went to her house and “met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them.” (v.40) This indicates Lydia was the leader of a new Christian congregation in Philippi.

In Philippi, fortune telling and such were prevalent. The slave girl’s proclamation seems to be consistent with Paul’s mission, but it isn’t. She was not referring to the monotheistic God of Israel, or to salvation in the sense that Paul is preaching. Paul cast out the demon, and at the same time, the spirits of oppression, superstition and jealousy took revenge on Paul and Silas.

Before Philippi, the Apostles were confronted by jealousy and misguided zealousness. Now they are being confronted by the forces of evil. Those forces do not want people to be set free from oppression, and Paul and Silas pay a price for their courageous faithfulness to God. Paul and Silas may be out of sight to the new community of believers in Philippi, but they are not out of God’s sight. There is more to come in this story.

My Takeaway: Today our adversary, the enemy of God, is still at work oppressing God’s people. Today there are faithful followers of Jesus confronting these evil forces as they work to set people free from oppression, poverty, and addictions. Let’s not forget our brothers and sisters who faithfully serve God in very dangerous places. May we be as strong in our prayerful support of them as they are in fighting the good fight.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.