November 7 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading:

Acts 16:1-15

¹Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
²Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
³Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
⁴And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
⁵And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
⁶Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
⁷After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
⁸And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.
⁹And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
¹⁰And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
¹¹Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;
¹²And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.
¹³And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
¹⁴And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
¹⁵And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

Devotional:

Lydia, like the Shunammite woman, opened her home to the servant of God. What a blessing to Paul to be in such a Christian home! Only one who has been on the road really knows what it is to enjoy a home atmosphere along the way. And to Paul, whose journeys were fraught with danger and persecution, this was a real respite.

But don't you think that the home itself was the more blessed? To have the apostle Paul in your home! To hear him pray at the table and open the Scriptures to you and your family! To experience the compassion of his great heart and to feel his love! To bring your questions to him and hear his answers from the Scriptures and from his vast store of knowledge of God's truth! What a blessing!

When was the last time you gave yourself and your family the privilege of the presence of one of God's special servants in your home? Have you ever sat spellbound at your own table while a missionary from overseas told experiences of God's care in the face of danger and illness? Have you ever rejoiced over the account of the growth of new churches God is using His servants to raise up in our own land? Have you ever sat at your own table with your own pastor and come to see in a refreshing way some of the truths you have really been wanting to explore with someone trained to explain them more fully?

And are you aware of the presence of the Lord Jesus Himself in your home? There is an old plaque which speaks of Jesus as 'the unseen guest at every meal.' Lord, grant that we may more fully realize that You dwell in our home.