spoke well of Timothy as he had a good reputation. I wanted Timothy to accompany me on my missionary journey as a helper. So I took him and did the unthinkable, I had him circumcised as all the Jews living in those areas knew that Timothy's father was a Greek. I was a firm believer in being all things to all men. to the Jews I was a Jew and to the Gentiles I was a Gentile. Besides, Timothy had no objections to being circumcised. As we went through the towns, we delivered to the saints the decisions reached by the apostles and the church elders in Jerusalem for them to observe. Accordingly, the congregations were strengthened in the faith and increased in number day by day.
We travelled through the Provinces of Phrygia and Galatia, because we had been forbidden and prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in Asia. When we came to the frontier of Mysia, a region of Asia Minor, we tried to go into the region of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Christ would not let us. So we passed by Mysia and went down to Troas, a maritime city in the plains of Asia Minor. There a man from the Province of Macedonia appeared to me in a vision while I slept that night, saying, "Come over to Macedonia, and help us."
As soon as I had seen the vision, we lost no time in getting ready and left for Macedonia, a region of Greece. We concluded that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them there. Sailing from the port of Troas, we made a straight run to Samothrace, an island in the Aegean Sea. The next day we went to Neapolis, a town in the Province of Macedonia. From there we went to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading maritime city of that part of Macedonia. Philippi was the main Roman highway through Greece and it was exempt from imperial taxes. We spent a few days in that port city. Then on the Sabbath, we went outside the city gates to the bank of the river, where we understood that a congregation of Jewish worshippers gathered for prayer. We sat down and began speaking to the woman who had gathered there.
One of those listening to us was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia. She was a dealer, selling fabrics dyed in purple. Clothing dyed purple was highly prized and expensive. Purple was known as the colour of the wealthy and royalty. The Roman Emperors wore purple robes as did the Kings of Israel. The Messiah was clothed with a purple garment while been beaten and mocked before He was crucified. Lydia was already a God-fearer. She worshipped God with reverence and awe. The Lord opened up her heart to respond to what I was saying. After she and the members of her household were baptised by being immersed in the water. Signifying that they believed that Christ died upon the cross for their sins. They believed that they were crucified with Him, buried with Him and raised to new life in Him. She gave us this invitation, "If you consider me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay in my house." She insisted until Silas, Timothy and myself, all went.
One day, when we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a snake-spirit that enabled her to see the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. This girl kept following me and the rest of us. She kept screaming and shouting loudly at the top of her voice, "These men are servants of the Most High God! They are telling you how to be saved!" She kept this up day after day, until I became greatly disturbed. I turned and said to the spirit within her, "In the name of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, I order you to come out of her!" The spirit came out of her, at that very moment. When her owners discovered that their source of income was gone, they seized me and my partner Silas and dragged us to the market square to face the authorities. Timothy took shelter and hid at Lydia's house.
They brought us before the judges, saying, "These men are causing a lot of trouble in our city, since they are Jews. They are encouraging customs which are unlawful for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans." The mob joined in the attack against us. The judges tore the clothes off our backs and ordered that we be flogged. We were given a severe beating and were thrown into prison. They charged the jailer to guard us and keep us secure. Upon receiving such an order, the jailer threw us into the inner cell and clamped our feet securely between heavy blocks of wood.
The stripes upon my back could not be compared to the stripes that the Messiah received upon His back. I was whipped with a mere rod, a dried out reed while He was whipped with a flagellum, a cat of nine tails. It had sharp pieces of metal and bone attached to it. His flesh was torn from off His back with every lash. He was whipped thirty nine times. Every blow ripping flesh from off His body. Silas and I were grateful that we had received a whipping far lesser than what our Messiah had received. Our backs were bleeding but our flesh was not torn and ripped off from it. Our present sufferings could not be compared to the glory that was being revealed in us.
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead. I hungered to gain Christ and become one with Him. I rejoiced and was glad that I could share in His sufferings.
So at midnight, Silas and I prayed and began to sing praises unto God with all our hearts. We sang passionately and loudly with all our might. Our praise was harmonious and did not go unnoticed as the prisoners listened attentively to us sing. King David had a custom that he would rise at midnight to give thanks unto the Lord. It is easy to give God thanks when times are good and it is day time. However, it is a difficult thing to give God thanks during your darkest hour, and at midnight. Silas and I sang songs of praise in our darkest hour, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. Together we Sang, making melody in our hearts, with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in our midnight hour.
Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose. God does not allow midnight hour praise and thanksgiving to go unnoticed. God takes notice when you sing in your darkest hour. The jailer awoke, and when he saw the doors standing open he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, for he assumed that the prisoners had escaped. Roman Law was harsh and cruel. If a prisoned escaped from a guard, the guard was put to death. If a guard fell asleep at his post, he was put to death. The jailer, by killing himself would have made his ending less painful than if he had been slain by a fellow Roman soldier. They took their time in killing a man, making it slow and as painful as possible.
I shouted to the jailer, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here! No one has escaped" Calling for lanterns, the jailer ran in trembling and fell down in front of me and Silas. Then, leading us outside, he asked, "Men, what must I do to be saved?" I replied, "Trust and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, give yourself up to Him. Take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping and you will be saved. You and your household." We told him and everyone in his household the message about Jesus, the Messiah. Even at that late hour of the night, the jailer took us and washed our wounds. Without delay, he and all the members of his household were baptised in water. He took us up to his house and set food in front of us. He and his entire household celebrated that they had come to trust in God.
The next morning, the judges sent serjeants with the orders, "Release those men and let them go." The jailer repeated those words to me, saying "The judges have sent word to have the both of you released. So come out, and go on your way in peace." But I said to the officers, "We were flogged in public when we hadn't been convicted of a crime. We are Roman citizens and know our rights. They had us thrown in prison and now they want to get rid of us secretly. No way! Let them come and fetch us and escort us out themselves!"
The officers reported these words to the judges, who became frightened when they heard that we were Roman citizens. As Tarsus was a "free-city" in good favour with the rulers of Rome. It had the privilege of self-government. This resulted in Roman citizenship for it's citizens. As I was "freeborn," born to parents who were already citizens of Rome. I gained Roman citizenship by virtue of birth. The judges came and apologised to us, then, after escorting us out, requested that we leave the city. We went from
the prison to Lydia's house, and after seeing Timothy and encouraging the other brothers, we all departed together.
We become a citizen of heaven when we become believers. We not only have an earthly birth making us citizens on this earth, but we also have a birth from above, a heavenly birth. Giving us heavenly citizenship. We are citizens of two worlds, heaven and earth, but our heavenly citizenship is the one of greater value.
Alone in Athens. #8
After passing through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia, we came to Thessalonica, the capital city of the Province of Macedonia. It was a naval port city on the gulf of Thessalonica that was overlooked by Mount Olympus. There was a synagogue of the Jews there. So according to my custom and ritual practice of preaching the Good News to the Jew first and then the Gentiles, I went in. For three consecutive Sabbath days I preached sermons and gave teachings out of the Jewish Scriptures. Explaining and proving that it was necessary for Christ, the Messiah to suffer many