Post by Betty on Apr 7, 2005 4:59:27 GMT -5
Beloved all,
Being locked up in a Roman prison was no picnic. Offenders were stripped, flogged and placed in leg irons. Their blood-soaked clothing wasn't even changed in the dead of winter! And the 'inner cells' (v.24) where Paul and Silas were imprisoned were the worst. The lack of water, cramped conditions, and the stench of toilets (if that's what you could call them), made sleep impossible and waking miserable. Prisoners there routinely begged for death while some even committed suicide.
But after Paul and Silas were "beaten, and...thrown into prison...[they] were praying and singing...and the other prisoners were listening." The Message says, "The other prisoners couldn't believe their ears." Talk about impact! Paul's attitude impressed them before his religious beliefs did. Anybody can sing in church, including hypocrites. But praise in prison - now that's something else! How did they do it? Perspective! It's not what you've lost but what you have left that counts! Paul didn't just sing in prison, he wrote some of his best stuff. Listen: "Everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn't shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I'm Christ's messenger, dead I'm His bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose" ( Philippians 1:20-21).
Faith and God's feet tapping to songs breaking chains,jails(Bondages!!). Wow! What could they do with a man like this? He was beyond their threats! His strength came from within and was not diminished by things without. Overcoming faith - it'll impact them every time!
God bless...
luv--AARON
