Hospitality

Acts 16
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God:
and the prisoners heard them.   Acts 16:25


Background:
Chapters 16-19 contain as many as eight years of ministry summarized in
these few chapters, which tell of Paul's work in many of the European cities
of the empire. Luke joins Paul, Silas, and Timothy on the missionary team.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Handbook)

In Charles Swindoll's book Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit"  he says:

A man from Macedonia had said,"Come over and help us." God had in
mind a seller of purple, an exploited slave girl, and a rugged, brutal Roman
jailer. When you travel as God would have you travel, like Paul, you're
sensitive  to doors that open and at peace with doors that close.

These three were the first members of the church at Philippi, which met at
Lydia's home. This church was founded on Paul's second missionary journey.
The Holy Spirit sent Paul to Philippi where it became the entrance of the
gospel into Europe.
Philippi was a place where businessmen and salesmen travelled
to and from all over the world.

LET IT GLOW

Over the last thirty years, my family has had many revival preachers stay
in our home. Sure it was extra work-extensive cleaning, more laundry, and
special meals, but the blessings and benefits outweighed the work.
A woman in the Bible opened her home, also.

The Preacher's outline & Sermon Bible  states:

Lydia was a professional woman. She was a seller of purple fabric. Purple
fabrics were in great demand in the Roman world. Purple was used on the
toga or outer garments by the royalty of Rome. Therefore, as in every society,
even the lower classes desired what the upper class had.
Lydia was apparently very wealthy. Her home and financial means were large
enough to accommodate not only the mission party and a household, but the
church itself. (verse 15, 40) Note also that her hometown was Thyatira. She
apparently had business establishments and homes in both places. Perhaps
Thyatira, a flourishing city known for its purple dyes and cloth, was her
manufacturing and shipping headquarters, and Philippi was her distribution
center.

The mission team stayed at Lydia's house. She was very hospitable, don't
you think? Four house guests would make quite a difference for us, but to her.

A booklet by Agape Ministries, called Let's Practice Hospitality, says:
The dictionary defines it a "behaving in a kind and generous manner toward
guests-expressing welcome, generosity."
In the same booklet, Jackie Cave said,"Hospitality begins in the home by daily
practice with the family. Our family is a gift from God to us. The one most
deserving of our kindest hospitality is our own dear husband. No effort is too
much trouble to make sure he understand just how grateful we are that God
gave us him."
Also, Mrs. Aloha Broome says she has a plaque in her home that states "Let
all guests be received as Christ."

Some scriptures on this subject include: 1Peter 4:9, Romans 12:13,
1 Timothy 6:17-19, Titus 1:8.


LET IT GROW

Why were Paul and Silas in a dark, smelly dungeon? The had cast out a
demon from a slave girl. She had been used to make money for her owners by
telling the future. Now that she was delivered and was a Christian, her owners
could not make money from her services. (Of course, it was God's way of
putting them in contact with the Roman jailer who needed to be saved.)

What were these two doing at midnight? They were praying and praising
God. Did I say they were in a dungeon, a prison? They sang while down there
in the inner part, and their feet were in stocks? Yes, and God delivered them
with an earthquake opening the cells and freeing their feet. Isn't the Lord full
of surprises?


LET IT GO

Open my home more to those who share the gospel.

Be more hospitable.

Keep praying and praising, no matter what the circumstances.
(At least I'm not in jail.)