Wed.’s Devo - God’s Great Deliverance

Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-16; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8 In Hezekiah’s 14th year of reigning over Judah, Sennacherib of Assyria came to take the fortified cities of Judah. Hezekiah repented that he had stopped paying them tribute and asked what it would take to make them leave them in peace. Hezekiah gave Senacherib all the silver and gold he could find in his kingdom and took the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and gave it to him. Sennacherib still sent his powerful army led by Rabshakeh against Jerusalem. *** Hezekiah sent his officers to speak to Rabshekeh. Rabshekeh rebuffed Hezekiah for thinking he could buy his way out of this, or hire Egypt to help him, or think the Lord would help them. He boasted that the Lord was the one who sent him to destroy them. *** Hezekiah’s officers asked him to speak to them in Aramaic so their soldiers couldn’t understand. He refused and addressed them instead. He told them that if they listened to Hezekiah they would be doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine, but if they surrendered to him, they would be taken to his land where they would have their own land and eat bread and drink wine. He told them not to listen to Hezekiah because the gods of other nations had not been able to save them. What makes them think that the Lord will not be able to deliver them out of their hands. *** Judah’s men remained quiet because they had been instructed not to answer. When Hezekiah heard what Rabshekeh said, he tore his clothes and wore sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord to pray. He sent his men to ask Isaiah what they should do. Isaiah told them not to be afraid of the words of Rabshekeh because he reviled the Lord with his words. God would put a spirit in him so he would hear a rumor and return to his ow land. He would die of the sword in his own land. *** Rabshekeh sent another letter to Hezekiah threatening him again and reminding him of all the nations he had defeated. Hezekiah took the letter and spread it out in the temple of the Lord. He prayed that God would save them so that all the kingdoms of the earth would know that he is the only God. *** Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah saying that the Lord heard his prayer and repeated a prophesy about Sennacherib. It was true that he would turn fortified cities into heaps of ruins and destroy nations, but he had defied the Holy One of Israel, and God would retaliate. God would put a hook in his nose and a bit in his mouth and he would return the way he came. *** For Judah, Isaiah prophesied, she would eat from what grows this year and the next year. In the third year, they will sow and reap and plant vineyards and eat from their fruit. A remnant would survive. *** God also said the king of Assyria would not return to harm the city because the Lord would defend it for his name sake and for the sake of David. *** That night the angel of death went and killed 185,000 Assyrians in their camp. Senecherib went back home to Nineveh and was assassinated by his own son in the temple of his god. Esarhaddon, another son ruled in his place. *** In Acts, Paul and Luke and their friends left Ephesus and traveled to Jerusalem. All the way people were prophesying over Paul and warning him not to go to Jerusalem because he would be persecuted and end up in prison. Paul had to trust the spirit of God inside him and kept going toward Jerusalem. He was not afraid of chains or imprisonment; he was more afraid of missing God’s plan for his life. *** When they finally arrived in Jerusalem, they stayed with Mnason who had been an early disciple of theirs. *** Lord, may we be like Paul who was not afraid of death or persecution. May we fear you above our comfort.

Tues.’s Devo - Israel’s Fate -

Read: 2 Kings 17:1-18:12; Acts 20:1-38; Psalm 148:1-14; Proverbs 18:6-7 While Ahaz was ruling Judah, Hoshea became king of Israel. Hosea was an evil king. The king of Assyria came against him and ordered him to pay tribute to him. When Hosea refused, the king of Assyria took Hosea prisoner and invaded the land of Israel and besieged Samaria for three years before he captured it. He carried all the Israelites to his land and scattered them throughout the cities in Assyria. He brought his people to take their place. *** All of this happened because the people of Israel did what he told them not to do when he brought them from Egypt and gave them the land. They did not remain faithful to the Lord but took up the gods of the land. They worshiped Baal and Asherah and other gods. *** Judah also abandoned the Lord and followed Israel in the worship of false gods. When the kingdom divided and Israel made Jeroboam their king, he led them into great sin making golden calves for them to worship so they wouldn’t go to Jerusalem and worship the Lord. So they were exiled to the land of Assyria and remained there. *** The king of Assyria replaced them with people from Babylon and other cities. They lived in the cities the Israelites had built and did not fear the Lord. So, the Lord sent lions among them that killed some of them. The king of Assyria was told that the lions were there because the people didn’t know the law of the god of the land. So the king sent one of the priests that he carried away to go and teach them the law of the god of the land. So a priest came to Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord. *** But the people of Samaria still worshiped in all the shrines and high places the Israelites had built. The Babylonians brought their own gods with them and burned their children to these gods and did all manner of evil. They feared the Lord and they worshiped the false gods. *** Hezekiah became the king of Judah and reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years. He was righteous and feared the Lord all the days of his life. He removed all the places the people worshiped false gods and broke the serpent that Moses had made in the wilderness. He followed the Lord so closely that he prospered in everything he did. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. He struck down the Philistines and God was with him in all he did. *** Samaria was taken in Hezekiah’s sixth year of ruling over Judah. *** In Acts, there had been a great riot because the silversmiths accused Paul and his people of speaking against the goddess Artemis. The silversmiths had incited the riot against them because they were converting their customers to Christ thus, hurting their business. *** When everyone left the scene, Paul left for Macedonia to encourage the churches there. He stayed in Greece for three months until he heard there was a plot against him by the Jews. Then he went to Syria and returned through Macedonia. *** Paul spent Passover in Troas and preached until midnight. They were in an upper room and a young man name Eutychus was sitting by a window. He went to sleep and fell from the third story and died. Paul went down and held him and he came back to life. They went back upstairs and Paul spoke and broke bread until the sun came up. Then he left in the ship for Jerusalem, hoping to be there on the day of Pentecost. *** When he came to Ephesus he spoke to them about what he knew would happen to him once he got to Jerusalem. He had gotten prophetic words that he would be met with imprisonment and afflictions in Jerusalem. He knew it was probably the last time he would see these people. He wanted them to know he was not afraid of the future for himself, but he was concerned for them. He warned them of wolves that would come and try to twist the truth and get them off track. He encouraged them to stay strong and walk in the grace of the Lord. He reminded them that he didn’t covet their silver or gold but there would be those who would come after him that would. He also encouraged them to help the weak and to be generous to the poor because it is more blessed to give than to receive. *** Paul prayed for them and embraced them with tears knowing he would not see them again. *** Lord, may we face our tomorrows like Paul faced his. May we walk steadfastly into the future with courage and confidence that you hold our lives in your hands. We praise you Lord! All the earth is yours!

Mon.’s Devo - The Rise and Fall of the Kings

Read: 2 Kings 15:1-16:20; Acts 19:13-41; Psalm 147:1-20; Proverbs 18:4-5 Finally a good king! Azariah was a good king in Judah but died a leper after ruling 38 years. When he died Jotham his son ruled over Judah. *** Jeroboam 2.0 was ruling in Israel and he did evil. He only ruled 6 months because he was assassinated by Shallum who reigned in his place. Jeroboam was Jehu’s fourth generation to rule just as God had promised. Shallum was not of his kin. *** Shallum was assassinated by Menahem. Menahem was a merciless warrior who sacked the city of Tiphsah because they refused to let him in their city. He reigned over Israel for 10 years and was an evil king. When Pul the king of Assyria came against Israel, Menahem gave him 1,000 talents of silver to pay for peace. Menahem took the money from all the wealthy men of Israel. When he died, Pekahiah his son ruled Israel. *** Pekahiah was also evil and only reigned for 2 years. His own brother Pekah assassinated him and reigned in his place. Pekah ruled for 20 years in Israel and was also evil. *** During Pekah’s rule, Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured many cities in the land of Naphtali and carried their people as captives to Assyria. Hosea killed Pekah and ruled in his place. *** At this time, Jotham began to rule in Judah. He ruled in Jerusalem for 16 years and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord like his father Uziah (Azariah) had done. But the people still worshipped idols and God began to send Rezin king of Syria and Pekah of Israel against Judah. When Jotham died, his son Ahaz ruled in his place. *** Ahaz ruled over Judah for 16 years and walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He sacrificed his own son to false gods and worshiped idols, leading Judah deeper into sin. *** Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel came against Jerusalem and besieged it. The king of Syria recovered some of the cities they had lost in other battles. Ahaz appealed to the king of Assyria to come and rescue him from the king of Syria and Israel. He bribed him with the silver and gold from the house of the Lord and his own house. The king of Assyria agreed to come and help. He took the city of Damascus and took its people captive and killed King Rezin. *** When Ahaz went to Damascus to meet with Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria he took note of the altar there. He had a blueprint made of their altar and had it sent back to Jerusalem for the priest to duplicate. *** The altar was built to replace the bronze altar in the house of the Lord. He also did major changes in the Lord’s house to make it look like the temples of other gods. When he died, his son Hezekiah ruled in his place. *** In Acts, Paul was staying in Ephesus. Seven of the Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of Jesus to cast out the demons from a man. The evil spirits in the man told these priest that he knew who Jesus was and who Paul was, but they didn’t recognize these men. Then the man overpowered all seven of them. He beat them up and stripped them of their clothes and sent them running from the house. *** When news of this got around, the fear of the Lord fell on the people. Many repented and brought their books of sorcery to the disciples to burn. The word of the Lord grew mightily. *** Paul left and went to Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. His plan was to then go to Rome. Paul stayed with Timothy and Erastus in Asia for a while first. *** They met a man named Demetrius who was a silversmith who had become wealthy making silver shrines to false gods and Paul’s teaching had hurt his business. He formed a union of the other silversmiths to fight against Paul. They started a riot saying that Paul was belittling the great goddess of Artemis who they worshipped and the whole city fell into confusion. They gathered at the theater and dragged in Paul’s companions Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul wanted to go into the theater to help his friends but those with him wouldn’t let him. *** The town clerk finally got the crowd to be quiet and spoke to them. He explained that Paul and his men had not done anything sacrilegious nor had they blasphemed their goddess. So if Demetrius and the other craftsmen had a grievance against them they needed to do it orderly in court. He told the crowd that they needed to go home or be incited with causing a riot. The people went home peacefully. *** Satan does not like his kingdom being disrupted. God is so much more powerful than him and when we as God’s people recognize that and walk it out, all the kingdoms of Satan will fall. We are watching that happen in the world around us. Men of God are rising up and taking back the kingdom of the world from Satan and using it for God’s purposes. That is our commission. *** Lord, you said in Revelation that the kingdoms of the world will become your kingdoms. May we do what we are called to do to see that happen in our section of influence. May we not be afraid of what Satan can do because you have taken his power from him on the cross and defeated him. All glory to your name!

Sun.’s Devo - The Downfall of the Kings

Read: 2 Kings 13:1-14:29; Acts 18:23-19:12; Psalm 146:1-10; Proverbs 18:2-3 Jehu rid the land of Baal worship but worshipped the golden calves Jeroboam had set up in Bethel and Dan. The Lord was not happy with him and gave them over to the Syrians who oppressed them. When Jehu died, his son Jehoahaz reigned over Israel for 17 years. When he died, Joash his son reigned in his place. *** When Jehoash came to rule in Israel, Joash had been ruling in Judah sixteen years. Jehoash was also evil and walked in the sins of Israel. Israel and Judah had warred against each other now for years. *** Elisha became very sick and Joash went to see him and wept over him. Elisha told him to take a bow and arrow and shoot the arrow out the window toward Syria. When he did, Elisha told him that it was the Lord’s arrow of victory over Syria. Then Elisha told him to take the rest of the arrows and strike the ground. He only struck the ground three times so that was how many times he would defeat the Syrians. Elisha lamented that he should have struck it six or seven times and then they would have totally ended the Syrians. *** Just as the sign told them, Joash defeated the Syrians three times. In Judah, Amaziah became king and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. He was a good king who did what was right in God’s eyes, though not like David. The people still worshipped in the high places. When he had established his kingdom, he killed the people who had killed his father but he did not kill their children. *** Amaziah also killed 10,000 Edomites and took Sela and renamed it Joktheel. Then he sent a message to Jehoash in Israel saying he wanted to face off with his army. Jehoash warned him not to get so confident just because he had defeated Edom; he should be content with his victory and go home. *** Amaziah wound’t listen to his advice so Jehoash came with his army to meet him at Beth-shemesh in Judah. Israel defeated Judah and took Amaziah captive. The army of Israel entered Jerusalem and took down part of the wall and stole all the gold and silver and the vessels in the Temple and the king’s palace. They also took hostages. *** Jehoash died and his son Jeroboam became king of Israel. Amaziah lived 15 more years after Jehoash’s death. Amaziah was killed by his own men in Lachish and brought back to Jerusalem to be buried. The people of Judah made Azariah, his sixteen year old son king. Azariah built Elath and restored it to Judah. *** Jeroboam was reigning in Israel and reigned 41 years. He was an evil king and caused Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel, Damascus and Hamath because of the mercy of God according to the words of Jonah the prophet. When he died, Zechariah his son reigned in Israel. *** In Acts, Paul left Antioch and went to Galatia and Phrygia encouraging the believers. *** Priscilla and Aquilla met Apollos who came to Ephesus and was a great teacher. He knew about Jesus and John’s baptism. Priscilla and Aquilla told him about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and he believed them. He wanted to go to Achaia and the church wrote him letters of recommendation. He took the letters and went to Corinth. Paul came to Ephesus and they had not heard about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. So he explained to them how the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost to give them power and boldness to be witnesses. Then he laid his hands on them and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. About 12 of them did and spoke in tongues. Paul stayed there three months boldly speaking in the synagogue about Jesus and salvation. Some were stubborn and refused to believe. They spoke negatively about Jesus but Paul continued to preach for two years. *** God was doing miracles through Paul so that even handkerchiefs and aprons Paul had prayed over were sent to people that were sick and they were healed and delivered. *** Lord, we long to see that kind of power to save and deliver return to the church. Thank you that we will see that in our day.

Sat.’s Devo - Joash Comes to the Kingdom

Read: 2 Kings 10:32-12:21; Acts 18:1-22; Psalm 145:1-21; Proverbs 18:1 Jehu didn’t follow the Lord with all his heart and still worshipped false gods along with the Lord, so God began cutting off Israel’s land. He used Hazael king of Syria to do it. Hazael took the land east of the Jordan that had belonged to Gad, Manasseh and Rueben. When Jehu died, Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. *** In Judah, Ahaziah had been killed so Athalia his mother ruled. She killed all the king’s sons and destroyed all the royal family. But, Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and Ahaziah’s sister, took one of Ahaziah’s infant sons and hid him away in a bedroom where his nurse raised him in secrecy. When Joash was seven years old, Jehoiada the priest had the captains the guards meet him in the house of the Lord. He made a covenant with them to help him set Joash as the king. They were to come on the Sabbath and surround the house of the Lord and protect Joash. He would proclaim that he is king and they were to kill anyone who tries to stop them. *** On that day, Jehoiada the priest brought out Joash and put the crown on his head and gave them the testimony o the Lord. They proclaimed him and anointed him and clapped their hands crying “Long live the king!” *** Athaliah heard the noice and went to the house of the Lord to see what was going on. When she saw Joash’s standing in the place of the king and heard the trumpets and what the people were saying she tore her clothes and cried, “Treason!” Jehoiada ordered her to be killed, so they took her out of the house of the Lord and killed her. *** Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they would be his people and worship him. They went and tore down the house of Baal and killed the priest of Baal. The soldiers brought the king from the house of the Lord to the king’s house. The people of the land rejoiced and there was peace in the city. *** Joash was seven years old when he began to reign over Judah and Jehu had been reigning for seven years over Israel. Jehu had rid Israel of Baal worship and now Joash rid Judah of it. *** A temple tax was taken every year and was supposed to be used for maintenance on the temple but after reigning for 23 years, Joash realized it was not being used for that. The priests refused to take responsibility so Jehoiada bore a hole in a chest and set guards over it. The people could put their money in there and it would be safe. When the chest got full, Jehoiada gave it to the repairmen and they did the work honestly and fairly. *** Hazael the king of Syria took Gath and was on his way to take Jerusalem. Joash took all the money in the temple treasury and paid them not to come. Joash was killed by his own servants and his son Amaziah took his place. *** In Acts, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met Aquila and Priscilla a couple who had been banned from Rome because they were Jews. They were also tent-makers and willingly they helped Paul in his ministry. *** Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia. Paul tried to convince the Jews about Jesus, but they refused to believe. Paul shook out his garments and told them he was going to the Gentiles. Paul did find Titius and Scrispus who believed in the Lord and became Christians. They were baptized. *** Paul had a dream telling him to keep speaking about Jesus because God would protect him from harm. God had many in this city who were his. So Paul stayed there another year and a half teaching the word of the Lord. *** When Gallio became proconsul of Achaia, the Jews joined to attack Paul and brought him before the tribunal. They accused Paul of teaching against the law. Paul was about to speak but Gallio interrupted and said that he refused to judge on questions concerning their law. He drove the Jews out of the tribunal. The people took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue and beat him publicly, but Gallio didn’t care. *** Paul stayed longer then left for Syria taking Priscilla and Aquila with him. He left Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus and he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. Then he left Ephesus to go to Caesarea then to Antioch. *** Lord, thanks to Paul’s diligence and perseverance the Gospel was spread throughout the earth. May we continue in his work to spread the Good News to the world.

Fri.’s Devo - Jehu Saves Israel

Read: 2 Kings 9:14-10:31; Acts 171-34; Psalm 144:1-15; Proverbs 17:27-28 Elisha had gone to Ramoth-gilead where Israel had troops were guarding the city against Hazael of Syria. King Joram of Israel had returned to Jezreel to heal from being wounded in the war. Elisha found Jehu, and in secret, he anointed him to be the next king of Israel. Jehu’s assignment was to strike down the house of Ahab and kill every male, whether they were a servant or a free man and to avenge the blood of all God’s prophets that Jezebel had killed. *** Jehu told his men not to tell anyone he was taking the kingdom until he could get to Jezreel and kill Joram. He flew in his chariot to Jezreel. King Joram and King Ahaziah came in their chariots out to meet him. He shot Joram in the heart. *** When Ahaziah saw what Jehu did to Joram, he fled toward Beth-haggan. Jehu chased him and shot him also. He fled to Meddigo where he died. His servants carried his body to Jerusalem and buried him there. Jehu had Joram’s body thrown on the plot of ground that was Naboth’s vineyard. *** Jehu entered Jezreel and went straight to where Jezebel was. He had her thrown down from her window and the dogs drank her blood and ate most of her body before they came to bury her. Everything that happened to Jezebel and Joram had been prophesied. *** Jehu then sent letters to Samaria to the leaders of the city telling them to set up a king to fight him. They were afraid of Jehu who had killed the king of Israel and Judah and asked Jehu to be their king. He told them he would if they behead all the king’s sons. They beheaded all 70 of them and sent the heads in baskets to Jehu. He lay them in two piles by the entrance of the gate until the next day. *** The next day, Jehu stood with the heads and told the people that they were innocent of killing the kings, but they had killed his sons. Then he explained that the Lord had ordained this to happen by the words of Elijah. *** Jehu set out to go to Samaria and met 42 of Ahaziah’s relatives on the way. Jehu had them slaughtered also. Then he met Rechab and asked if he was loyal to him. Rechab said he was so Jehu told him to come with him and see his zeal for the Lord. *** Jehu gathered all the people of Samaria and sent news throughout Israel for all the worshipers of Baal to meet him so he could worship Baal with them. On the appointed day, Jehu went with them into the house of Baal and made sure there were no worshipers of the Lord present. He let them offer their sacrifices and burnt offerings, then he told the men he had stationed outside not to let one of them escape. They went in and put all the worshippers of Baal to death and brought out the pillar in the house of Baal and burnt it. They turned the temple into a public bathroom. *** Jehu rid Israel of Baal worship, but he still worshiped the gods of Jeroboam and was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord with all his heart. *** In Acts, Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica and taught at the synagogue for three Sabbaths explaining why Jesus was the Messiah. The Jews became jealous of their new converts and went to Jason’s house where they were staying to get Paul and Silas. When they didn’t find them there, they brought out Jason and some of his brothers instead. They accused them of housing Paul and Silas who were riling up the people to believe there was another king other than Caesar. *** They let Jason go on bond and the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea by night. They went to the synagogue there and the people were much more receptive. They listened to what Paul and Silas had to say until the instigators from Thessalonica came and stirred up the crowds against them. 
 *** Paul was sent to Athens and Silas and Timothy soon joined him. At Athens, Paul began debating with the Epicureans and the philosophers. He had noticed a statue that was inscribed with “To the unknown god.” All the Atheans and foreigners would meet to discuss politics, religion and any new thought. They wanted to hear what Paul had to say. He commented about the altar of the “unknown god” and said he would speak about him. He explained that God was the creator of everything they could see. He was the only God and the only one they should worship. He created all mankind and mankind is his offspring. God doesn’t live in man-made temples but the world is his temple. All people everywhere need to repent and turn to worship him because there will be a judgment day where every man will stand before him. Many scoffed at what Paul said, but some joined him and believed. *** Lord, you are the answer to every one and every thing. May we remember that one day we will all give an account for our lives. May we make the most of the days we have to live on the earth. May Jesus be exalted through us.

Thurs.’s Devo - God is Sovereign Over All

Read: 2 Kings 8:1-9:13; Acts 16:16-40; Psalm 143:1-12; Proverbs 17:26 Elisha warned the woman who he had raised to life that there was a famine coming that would last for seven years. She should go to another country to live it out. She went to the land of the Philistines. *** After the famine, she returned to get her land back. The king just happened to be talking to Gehazi about all the miracles Elisha had done. He was telling the story of this woman and her son Elisha had brought back from death when she walked in. He recognized her as the woman. She told her story to confirm it. The king ordered that all her land be given back to her and also, all the proceeds gotten from her land over the last seven years should be returned to her. *** Remember how God had given Elijah three things to do before he died and he only did the third one, which was to anoint Elisha to take his place. Today we will see how Elisha fulfilled the other two. One was to anoint Hazael king over Syria. *** Ben-hadad was king of Syria and had become very sick. He sent his servant Hazael to ask Elisha if he would recover or die. Elisha told him that he would recover from the sickness, but he would also die. Then, he told Hazael he would be the next king and he would do horrible things as king. *** Hazael went back to Ben-hadad, but he only told him he would recover. He killed him that night and ruled in his place. *** Meanwhile in Israel, Joram the son of Ahab was ruling. Jehoshaphat and Ahab had become friends and Ahab had given his daughter to marry Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram. When Jehoshaphat died, Jehoram reigned over Judah. His wife led him to worship idols and sin. *** Edom rebelled against Judah and set up their own king so Jehoram went to get them back under his rule. His mission was unsuccessful and he had to flee Edom. *** Jehoram died and Ahaziah his son became king of Judah. He was also evil. Ahaziah went with the king of Israel, Joram to fight Hazael king of Syria. Joram was wounded in the battle and had to return to Jezreel to heal. Ahaziah went to visit him. *** Elisha sent one of the prophets from his school to go to Ramoth-gilead and find Jehu. (This was the second thing God had told Elijah to do before he died.) He was to take Jehu alone and anoint him king of Israel. Jehu was to strike down the house of Ahab to avenge the blood of God’s prophets that Jezebel had killed. The dogs would eat Jezebel in Jezreel and no one would bury her. After he told Jehu this, he was to flee. The prophet obeyed Elisha and did it just like he was told. *** When Jehu heard what the prophet had said, he came back to his men and told them. They blew the trumpet and proclaimed Jehu the king. *** In Acts, Silas and Paul were traveling together. They met a girl who was a fortune teller who discerned that they were men of God. She kept yelling that they were servants of the Most High God so much that Paul finally turned around and rebuked the divination spirit in her and told it to come out. *** Her handlers were not happy because they made a lot of money through her. They seized Paul and Silas and brought them before their rulers. They accused them of causing trouble and teaching against obeying the Roman laws. The magistrates had them beaten and thrown into prison. The jailer put them in the inner prison and put their feet in stocks. *** At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing to the Lord while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly, there was an earthquake which shook the prison. The doors were opened and everyone’s chains were broken. The jailer woke up and was about to kill himself because he thought all his prisoners had escaped. Paul told him not to harm himself because they were all here. *** The jailer had them bring lights and he fell before Paul and Silas asking them how he could be saved. They told him to believe on the Lord Jesus and he and his whole household would be saved. They told him and his family about Jesus and they ministered to their wounds. Paul and Silas baptized the jailor and he fed them in his house. His whole household became believers. *** The next day, the magistrate sent for Paul and Silas and wanted to set them free. When they told Paul they could go, Paul told them that he was not leaving. He was a Roman citizen and they had publicly beaten him and put him in prison. He was not letting them get away with this by freeing them. Paul made them apologize and set them free. They asked Paul and Silas to please leave the city. They went first to visit with Lydia and the brothers there and encouraged them before they left. *** God will use anything the devil brings against us for His good if we let him. Paul and Silas were willing to suffer for Christ so that a jailor and his household would get saved. God restored the woman’s land to her who had honored Elijah and housed him all those years. God will reward our good works. *** Lord, may we be willing to suffer for the cause of your kingdom. Thank you that your will will be done and Satan has no power to stop it.