Scripture Reading : Acts 16:6-40
Theme : Mission Report
The human author of the Book of Acts was Luke. Up to this point, the narrative is in the third person pronoun (e.g. he, they), but from 16:10 onwards, Luke used the first person pronoun “we”, indicating that he joined Paul, Silas and Timothy in this journey.
- Mission’s Observations. From Troas to Neapolis, the journey was by sea, with a night stop at Samothrace to avoid the perils of sailing in the dark. Philippi is an inland city 10 miles (16 km) from the port city of Neapolis. There was no synagogue in Philippi, likely due to a small number of Jewish men (at least 10 Jewish men were required to form a synagogue), so some Jewish women (including Lydia) gathered to pray.
- Mission’s Obstacles. The slave girl was demon-possessed, and the demon recognized and proclaimed Paul as someone sent by God. Paul, the true servant of God, did not need the testimony of a demon, and so he cast the demon out. The owners of the slave girl lost their money-spinning tool, and they stirred up the city and beat Paul and Silas and imprisoned them.
- Mission’s Objective. Because of the imprisonment, the Philippian jailer and his family were dramatically converted. Philippi was a Roman colony, which meant that Paul and Silas enjoyed protection from the Empire of Rome (16:37), so the local magistrates had to publicly apologize to Paul, or risked being removed from office by Rome. After being freed, Paul and Silas visited Lydia and encouraged the brothers. Paul’s objective was always to preach the Gospel to unbelievers and build up the believers.
Praying the Scripture
- Lydia’s conversion is yet another illustration of God’s election and sovereignty over one’s salvation. Let us thank God for opening our hearts to pay attention to what is written in the Bible, like He did with Lydia.
- Having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia, Paul was directed to Macedonia by a vision. However, God did not promise that as long as one obeys Him, the journey will be smooth and without hindrance. God did promise that He will be with His elect (Matthew 28:19-20). Let us pray that we will be faithful to obey God’s Word, like Paul, and depend on His strength to overcome difficulties.
- In everything that Paul did, he was single-mindedly focused on preaching the Gospel and encouraging believers. Even when he was in prison, he was “praying and singing hymns to God” together with Silas. Pray that we will devote ourselves to serve God and His eternal purposes (e.g. share the Gospel, serve in church, encourage other believers.)
经文：使徒行传16:6-40
主题：宣教报告
使徒行传的人类作者是路加。直至这里，其叙述是以第三人称概括的（如他、他们），但从16:10起，路加使用了第一人称“我们”，表示他在这一个宣教旅程中加入了保罗、西拉和提摩太。
- 宣教团的观察。从特罗亚至尼亚波利，他们航海而行，并在撒摩特喇停顿一夜，避开暗中航海的危险。腓立比是离尼亚波利海港16公里的一个内陆城市。腓立比或许犹太男人很少，所以没有会堂（至少要有十位才能建立会堂），因此一些犹太妇女（包括吕底亚）集合祷告。
- 宣教团的阻碍。那位使女是被巫鬼附身的，而巫鬼认出保罗，宣扬他就是神所差派来的。身为神属实的仆人，保罗无需巫鬼为他作见证，因此把它赶出来。使女的主人们失去了他们的摇钱树，所以搅扰众人攻打保罗和西拉，并拿他们下监。
- 宣教团的目的。因着保罗与西拉的下监，那位腓立比禁卒和他全家戏剧般地信主了。腓立比是罗马殖民地，也就意味着保罗和西拉是受罗马帝国的保护的（16:37），因此当地的官长必须公开向保罗道歉，否则他有可能遭罗马革职。释放后，保罗与西拉探访吕底亚，并坚固弟兄们。保罗的目标总是向非信徒传福音，并坚固信徒。
用经文祷告
- 吕底亚信主又是神在人的救恩所有的拣选与主权之例。让我们感谢神开启我们心中的眼睛，能留心关注圣经的话，像祂对吕底亚一样。
- 保罗被圣灵禁止在亚细亚讲道后，由异象引领至马其顿去。然而，神并没应许人只要顺服，路程必将一帆风顺。神应许的是祂会与祂的选民同在（太28:19-20）。祈求我们能忠心顺服神的道，如保罗一样，并依靠神的大能克服困难。
- 保罗无时无刻都在专心致志地传福音与坚固信徒。即便下监了，他仍与西拉“祷告，唱诗赞美神”。祈求我们能专心侍奉神，并专注于祂永恒的目的（如传福音、在教会服侍、坚固其他信徒等）。
