27/07/2024
Believe.
Like the jailer in Acts 16,you don't have to wait for those earth shaking tremors to realize you've all along been in your comfort zone. The important word here is "believe". One that comes out of the heart expressed through confession. Ps 19:14 says...May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight...
It means we completely surrender ourselves through our belief so that God can gift us with His faith. In so doing we experience His unconditional love that continually outpours perfectly down to the imperfect us. The unworthy us become worthy. For He took our place of sinfulness. The murky waters of our hopelessness and gave us His righteousness. We became His new creation. 2 Cor. 5:17) we're now the new us. Our past is completely erased and forgotten....For as far as easy is from the west, so far does He removed our transgressions from us....
At no time are we to look in the rear view mirror. It was yanked and thrown into an abyss. It's...onward Christian soldier. That's how our boldness need be.
Ps. 27:3..David said, Though an army encamps around me, my heart shall not fear. Though war arise against me, I'll be confident.
David had complete trust in his God. That is not to say he never encountered moments when he felt low, and those moments weren't few, he never forgot to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. (That is His perfectness, completeness, holiness and such related attributes of his God)
The result of all that left him on his knees repenting from the depths of his heart... If you o lord were to count our sins against us, who'd live... ROM 6:23 The wages of sin is death. Period. However in God's complete perfectness and holiness, mercy and compassion are included. That's what makes Him a Holy God.
The jailer believed. Him and all his household. He had just witnessed an extraordinary occurrence. A huge earthquake in his jail. It had jolted him from his usual quiet sleep which normally is after doing rounds to see that the prisoners were locked up good, safe and secure. The first thing he noticed was that the jail exits we're all wide open. And when he listened carefully there was total silence. Meaning...the obvious. The prisoners had escaped. As to when that could have happened, he couldn't tell. He took his knife to stab and kill himself. Paul shouted to him, "Bring no harm to yourself. We're all here". The jailer called for the lights, went in and possibly did a head count. They were all there. That's wasn't normal. Prison breaks take advantage of such happenings or lapses. He decided these two new prisoners weren't your every day prisoners. By not escaping they had saved him from the death sentence due on any guard whose duty a prisoner escapes. That was a huge mercy from them. 2. They had prevented him from fatally wounding himself and 3. They seemed to have persuaded the rest of the prisoners to remain in jail. He felt their compassion overwhelm him.
Incidentally the two had no fear and we're confident in such an environment.
He took them to his house and asked them, ..What must I do to be like you?.. They redirected him to the Lord Jesus. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you'll be saved, you and your household.
In conclusion, it's worth noting that the jailer did not necessarily believe because of the sudden violent earthquake that had the foundation of the prison shaken. No, on the contrary it was greatly as a result of these two new prisoners in his jail, Paul and Silas. Their conduct and behavior around themselves greatly puzzled him. They acted as if they were not of this world. And correctly so they were not. Phil 3:20 says ..our citizenship is in heaven.
This should encourage us in our pilgrimage here on earth. Belief is a door for faith to act as conduit for grace to work in us.
