pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Philippi


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One Focus

Reading: Acts 15:22-17:34

Acts 16:31 – “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved – you and your entire household.”

The Jerusalem Council sends a letter to the church in Antioch, explaining their decision concerning circumcision… The church receives the letter with joy. Paul then decides to revisit places that he and Barnabas went to check in on and to encourage the believers. Paul and Barnabas part ways over John Mark’s inclusion. Paul and Silas head one way, Barnabas and Mark another way. Both go with the same mission, scattered more broadly into the world.

Paul becomes the main focus as we continue reading Acts. In Lystra, Paul meets Timothy, a young disciple with some promise. He joins Paul and Silas as they travel and encourage the believers. In a vision, Paul is called to Macedonia. In verse 10 we find Luke’s first “we” as he becomes part of the mission team. Paul and company travel to Philippi, where they meet Lydia and others at “a place of prayer.” She embraces Paul’s message and Lydia and her household are baptized. She welcomes Paul and his fellow missionaries into her home.

In Philippi, Paul and company also meet a slave girl possessed by a demon. For data she follows them proclaiming them to be servants of God who offer “a way of salvation.” Paul grows tired of her and casts out the demon. This leads her owners to stir up trouble. Paul and Silas are stripped, beaten, and thrown in jail. Through prayer and worship God comes and intervenes, leading to rescue and salvation for the jailer and his household. Moved toward faith, Paul tells the jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved – you and your entire household.” Doing so, all are baptized into a saving faith. Paul and Silas are released.

As they travel to Thessalonica, Boroea, and eventually to Athens, a pattern emerges. Paul teaches in the synagogue (and sometimes other places), some people come to faith, the Jews get jealous and stir up trouble, and Paul and company flee to the next place. Paul adapts his message to his audience, develops relationships with some, drawing them to Christ. Some are jealous or angry or reject his message. Overall, God is at work and the church grows and spreads further out into the world.

Prayer: Lord God, as we read, we come to see Paul’s one focus: sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. He adapts, he pivots, he pushes on, he perseveres. His one focus led and guided all that he did and said. Fill us with the Holy Spirit; lead, guide, and empower us to keep the proclamation of the gospel as our one focus. Amen.


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Wholeness and Unity

Reading: Philippians 4: 1-3

Verse 2: “I plead with ___ and ___ to agree with each other in the Lord”.

Paul is imprisoned in Rome as he writes these words. The man who founded many churches and who was a key figure in bringing many people into a saving faith in Jesus Christ has been imprisoned for preaching the gospel. Paul is highly respected in the Christian communities spread throughout the known world. His words and writings carry weight. As he sits under house arrest in Rome, word of a dispute in the church in Philippi comes to his attention. Philippi is about 800 miles from Rome. Word would be carried across land, then sea, then land again. As he closes the letter to the Philippians, Paul takes time to address the dispute between Euodia and Syntyche, two prominent women in the church. In the opening verse above I left two blank lines because for most churches today we could fill in the lines. The spat may be past tense in some of our churches, but it is alive and well in too many others.

The fact that two women are in a sharp enough disagreement to merit mentioning means that it had significance for that church. Such disagreements often do. We do not know the source or cause of the disagreement, we just know it was doing what these things do – causing division and hostility. Paul knows these are bad for relationships and for churches so he asks a third party, believed to by Syzygus, the “loyal yokefellow”, to mediate. Again, in our churches it could be Bob or Anne or anyone skilled at bringing reconciliation. This is often a necessary step.

Division in the body of Christ does harm in so many ways. When we dig in and hunker down and refuse to enter into dialogue, we allow division to exist. When we in the church allow this, Satan is winning the day. Our community is weakened and our witness to the world is lessened. Whether one person is wrong or if both are wrong or if neither is wrong, all parties had a hand in creating division. Understanding and healing and forgiveness and grace and reconciliation must be found. Just as Paul pleads for these people to “agree with each other in the Lord”, may that be the prayer that we lift whenever needed in our churches and communities of faith. May the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the prayers of our hearts bring wholeness and unity to the body of Christ.

Prayer: Father God, where there is division, bring me words of healing and peace. Where and when there are disagreements in the body of Christ, give me words of understanding and love, words of grace and forgiveness. When hearts are hard, lead me to foster openness and care for the other. God, draw churches of all flavors into the unified church that will better resemble eternity. Walk with me as I seek to lead in that direction. Amen.


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Trust God

Reading: Acts 16: 16-24

Verse 17: “These men are servants of the most high God, who are telling you the way to be saved”.

As Paul and Silas continue to preach in Philippi they cross paths with a slave girl. This slave girl has the ability to predict the future. This ability comes from the spirit that is within her. As she follows Paul and Silas around, she keeps shouting, “These men are servants of the most high God, who are telling you the way to be saved”. This continued for many days. Imagine trying to preach – or do anything for that matter – with a woman remaining close by, yelling about you over and over. Finally Paul becomes frustrated and commands the spirit to leave the slave girl. We read, “At that moment the spirit left her”.

At first glance we would assume this healing to be a good thing. It is for the slave girl and it is for Paul and Silas. But it is not for everyone. The girl’s owners had made money from her ability to predict the future and now their source of income is gone. They drag Paul and Silas before the magistrates and drum up some false charges against them. The crowd joins in too. Paul and Silas end up beaten and in prison. The slave girl remains healed but unable to predict the future. The owners probably feel like they at least got even with Paul and Silas. The situation just does not seem fair, but God has a plan.

At times we too may face persecution for doing what is right. At times our willingness to stand up for someone can lead us to a place of unjust persecution. For example, if we speak out against an unjust landlord or help someone out of an abusive relationship, we may find an angry landlord or an upset abuser slinging accusations our way. If we stand up for ones without voice, speaking truth into a situation, we may find ourselves the target of the one who was abusing their power. Persecution is never easy to face, but it is sometimes a burden we must bear.

Things will turn out just fine for Paul and Silas. No, the beating and imprisonment we not good things to endure. The false accusations must have stung too. But God is at work. God has an eye on a man and his family that need to be saved. God is working to bring a plan together. When we are nudged or led by the Holy Spirit to halt an injustice or to intervene for the other, we too can trust that God has a plan and that there is a purpose beyond what we can see at that moment. May we be bold for our faith and for our God, trusting fully in God’s plan as we minister in God’s name.

Prayer: God, may I be fearless in standing for those without voice, for those without power, for those without place. Encourage and strengthen me when persecution and false accusations come. Remind me that all things work according to your wonderful plan. Amen.