BLESSINGS IN SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

BLESSINGS IN SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT
My Dear Precious Child,
     Paul went to the region where Timothy lived, whose mother was a devout believer.  Timothy had a good reputation in his church.  Paul knew that Timothy's dad had been a Greek and so he circumcised Timothy, knowing that his father had been a Greek.  Paul and Timothy traveled together declaring the kingdom of God having come in the person of Jesus Christ. There were towns where the Spirit of Jesus Christ would not allow them to preach so Paul had a vision that led him to go to Macedonia, declaring that I had called them to proclaim the glad tiding of Jesus Christ in that region.  (Acts 16:1-11)
    One Sabbath they gathered with some women who met together regularly and they sat down with the women and addressed them.  One of the women was Lydia, a woman of great faith, a woman who dealt in fabrics, and one who was already a worshiper of Me.  I opened her heart to pay close attention to the teachings of Paul.  Then she became baptized along with her household.  Lydia insisted upon the apostles staying at her house for the night .  On the way to her house they encountered a slave girl who was possessed by a demonic spirit of divination, claiming to foretell future events and to discover hidden knowledge, gaining money from her fortune-telling activities for other people.  The slave girl followed Paul and his entourage around shouting at the top of her voice that the men were of Me, the Most High God, and that they would announce to people the way to salvation. (Acts 16:16-19) 
    The slave girl followed Paul and the crowd for a few days announcing her message constantly which disturbed and annoyed Paul.  Finally he was worn out by her announcement and he spoke to the evil spirit within her to come out of her, and it came out of her at that very moment.  When her owners saw what happened and knew that they could not gain money from her divination any longer, they captured Paul and Timothy and dragged them before the public court and the magistrates, declaring that the apostles were Jews but were causing confusion because they were encouraging unlawful practices for the Romans to accept.  The crowd joined in with the accusations, tore the clothes off of Paul and Timothy and beat them with rods.   Then they threw Paul and Timothy in prison, demanding that they be kept safe which caused the jailer to put them in a dungeon and chain their legs. (Acts 16:20-26) 
   Paul and Timothy did not fear their treatment and instead sang hymns and praised Me constantly which the other prisoners enjoyed.  Suddenly there was a great earthquake, the foundation of the prison was shaken and the prison doors were opened and the chains fell off of all of the prisoners.  When the jailer saw that the doors were opened and the chains had fallen off, he drew his sword to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.  Paul shouted to the man not to hurt himself, that all of the prisoners were still there.  The jailer brought them out of the dungeon and asked them what he needed to do to be saved, to which Paul told him that he needed to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, including his entire household, by their turning themselves over to His keeping instead of continuing in their own keeping.  Paul and Timothy declared the Word of the Lord to the jailer and his entire household, who had washed and treated the injuries that Paul and Timothy suffered from the beatings.  The jailer kept leaping for joy at his newfound relationship with Me through the Lord Jesus Christ, along with his household. (Acts 16:27-34) 
    The next day the magistrate sent word to the jailer to release Paul and Timothy without a trial and that they should go in peace.  Paul demanded that the magistrate and his workers come personally to release them since he had doubts about the sincerity of the magistrate.  The magistrate and his staff appeased Paul and came to the city in order to legally release Paul and Timothy, asking the apostles to leave the city.  Paul and Timothy agreed and stopped by Lydia's house in order to warn the believers there to be on their guard against the rulers. (Acts 16:35-40)
     I stand by My Word, making sure that it is preached and taught by people who are devoted and convinced of My power of the Holy Spirit that is present in those very Words.  Paul and Timothy's experience of My sending an earthquake to open the doors of the prison dungeon and causing the chains to fall off of the prisoners was evidence enough to convince the apostles to continue in their ministry of the Good News.  The blessings were well worth the costs.
    Your Father of Divine Protection and Provision