Day 345 of 365
"WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?"
Faith is about trusting in Jesus regardless of daily circumstances. Paul and Silas had been beaten, stripped and thrown in jail for following Jesus (16:22 - 23), but the real test of their faith came in how they responded to their imprisonment. They didn't seek legal action or resort to grumbling; they didn't question God's plan. Instead, they decided to pray and sing to God (16:25). This activity and their attitude must have seemed strange to the other prisoners - and to the jailer!
To show his glory through Paul and Silas's circumstances, God sent an earthquake to shake things up. The jailer thought the prisoners had escaped; desperate, he prepared to take his own life: he knew he would be sentenced to death if the prisoners escaped under his watch. Instead of seeking their own welfare, Paul and Silas stayed in the prison and ministered to the jailer. It had to be mind-boggling to see two prisoners respond to his cruelty in such a tender way.
He asked the question that is "The Question" for people who have seen God and his people at work: "What must I do to be saved?" (16:30). The answer is simple because the message is clear: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (16:31). Paul was a brilliant theologian, but he also knew that the message of Jesus was beautifully simple, and he was ready to share it clearly in a moment of openness and opportunity.
Jesus, thank you for making salvation so simple, so that someone like me can receive it. Amen.
Acts 16:25-34 NASB
25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. 27When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!" 29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
The Jailer Converted
31 They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.
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