Acts 16:25
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Why would hardened criminals listen so intently to two off pitch disciples singing songs to their God? It is because they cannot figure out why those two could sing songs to God from a pool of their own blood after being savagely beaten by the authorities for crimes they did not commit. Sometimes our greatest opportunities to share the Good News of Christ come when we sing songs to God in our darkest hours of suffering and pain. When the spotlights are on and everything in life is going well for you, God will use your life and your joy to convince some. But when thrust into the darkness of a prison cell and all the props of your life are kicked out from under you...how will you respond?
This long avoided place of joblessness, terminal illness, marital struggles, or addiction could be your greatest moment to point the world to something bigger than our pain or hurt...to point the world to Jesus and His power to hold you up in the midst of life's worst! Give yourself and others around you an opportunity to see beyond your blood to the redeeming, sustaining, and life-giving blood of Jesus!
Prayer: Lord, in my hour of greatest need, let me sing to You. You are my only hope, my strength, my healer, my life. Even in the darkest place, I will offer my life up to You! Amen.
Pastor Jerry Sweat
Why would hardened criminals listen so intently to two off pitch disciples singing songs to their God? It is because they cannot figure out why those two could sing songs to God from a pool of their own blood after being savagely beaten by the authorities for crimes they did not commit. Sometimes our greatest opportunities to share the Good News of Christ come when we sing songs to God in our darkest hours of suffering and pain. When the spotlights are on and everything in life is going well for you, God will use your life and your joy to convince some. But when thrust into the darkness of a prison cell and all the props of your life are kicked out from under you...how will you respond?
This long avoided place of joblessness, terminal illness, marital struggles, or addiction could be your greatest moment to point the world to something bigger than our pain or hurt...to point the world to Jesus and His power to hold you up in the midst of life's worst! Give yourself and others around you an opportunity to see beyond your blood to the redeeming, sustaining, and life-giving blood of Jesus!
Prayer: Lord, in my hour of greatest need, let me sing to You. You are my only hope, my strength, my healer, my life. Even in the darkest place, I will offer my life up to You! Amen.
Pastor Jerry Sweat
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