About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
It’s been interesting to notice that this month’s verses have focused a lot on how integrity is one of the most effective ways of demonstrating one’s faith and relationship with God. The book of Acts (this time a New Testament book which was written by Luke the Evangelist [a piece of information that’s occasionally debated] and–together with the book of Luke–makes up a two-part piece of work) was meant “to provide an accurate, detailed historical account of the birth of the church, the growth of the church, and the acts of the church” and Luke wrote it “probably so we’d have a historical record of how the church started and how it grew and what the church did through men and women of God by the Spirit of God” (Source).
And it’s interesting that a book meant to document the history of the Church’s beginning, a telling of its beginning, also mentions integrity. “Walking the walk” or “putting on the God jersey” as my pastor refers to it is a vital part of Christianity. People can say they believe in God and that they go to church, but it doesn’t mean much if they don’t back up their claims with action. And that’s what Paul and Silas did when they were imprisoned (Acts 16); despite having been beaten and then chained up, they continued to praise God despite their circumstances. And their fellow prisoners took notice. One source describes the effect:
We need to be reminded that over the years of Christian witness, some of the most effective times of evangelism happened because Christians remained faithful and joyous people despite persecution and harassment. Nothing should limit our prayer and praise. God will use them to reach the hearts of those in the most difficult of places!
Don’t be afraid to represent, demonstrate, or prove your faith and love for God. God is Almighty, and for that we need to praise Him, even through the storms.
Personal Update
I’m sorry for the lack of updates recently; I managed to get myself a job (yay!) last week. While it doesn’t pay much (at all), and it’s part-time, I’m going to work on getting another job to supplement it. I’m still really uncertain and anxious about school starting in the fall and how things will work out with it, but I know it will. God has gotten me to this point, so He will get me through it.
Luckily, the best thing about this next (literally, 365 days) year is that after that I won’t be alone. The Boyfriend became the Fiance almost three weeks ago, and in a year we’ll be married, living together, and able to better support each other as a team as opposed to having to do everything on our own as two individuals. Life will become a little more challenging, of course, but a whole lot easier.
Batgirl012 