God with all his house (Acts
16:33,34). Paul and Silas were
bound in chains in a maximum
security prison, and then they
became guests at the home of
the jailor. He was to have kept
them locked up tight so they
couldn’t escape; but through
the divine blood, he took on
the courage of Jesus Christ. He
wanted salvation not only for
himself but for his whole family,
and God made it happen in an
unbelievable way.
Child of God, if you were put in the same
situation as Paul and Silas, would the story
have played out the same way? Would you
have used divine courage to stand for the sake
of Christ, or would you have bowed to what
the devil wanted so you could avoid the whole
situation?
Spiritual Weakness Brings Bad Results
Peter thought he was strong in the Lord, and
he thought he was willing to die for Christ;
but Jesus knew Peter was weak. He told him,
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat...
And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to
go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall
not crow this day, before that thou shalt
thrice deny that thou knowest me (Luke
22:31,33,34). Peter was deceived in what he
thought about himself.
Not long after Jesus had told Peter he would
deny Him, soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the
Garden of Gethsemane. The first thing Peter
did was cut off one of the soldier’s ears. Then
when they took Jesus away, Peter followed
from afar off. And they laid their hands on
him Jesus, and took him. And they led
Jesus away to the high priest: and with
him were assembled all the chief priests
and the elders and the scribes. And Peter
followed him afar off, even into the palace
of the high priest: and he sat with the servants,
and warmed himself at the fire (Mark
14:46,53,54). When you lack divine courage,
left. Why?—because God was
in control. When the jailor saw
what had happened, he thought
that surely all the prisoners had
escaped; so he drew his sword
and was about to kill himself,
But Paul cried with a loud
voice, saying, Do thyself no
harm: for we are all here (Acts
16:28).
When you are courageous in
the Lord, He will fight your battles
and make the impossible possible. Be
strong and of a good courage, fear not,
nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy
God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will
not fail thee, nor forsake thee (Deuteronomy
31:6). Do you believe that God is with you and
that He will never fail you? Do you believe
that He is in control of your situation?
A Beautiful Miracle of Salvation
So many miracles had happened that day,
but the greatest miracle of all was yet to come.
Then he the jailor called for a light, and
sprang in, and came trembling, and fell
down before Paul and Silas, and brought
them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to
be saved? And they Paul and Silas said,
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved, and thy house. And they
spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to
all that were in his house (Acts 16:29–32).
God was in control that day, and the conviction
of the Holy Spirit got the jailor ready for
Paul and Silas to lead him to Jesus. That man
accepted Jesus and became a new creature.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new (II Corinthians
5:17). All those things were able to take
place that day because Paul and Silas had the
courage to stand for Jesus.
And he the jailor took them Paul and
Silas the same hour of the night, and
washed their stripes; and was baptized, he
and all his, straightway. And when he had
brought them into his house, he set meat
before them, and rejoiced, believing in
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