Acts

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

Paul traveled on to Derbe and then to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy lived there, whose mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was Greek.

As the believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him, Paul wanted Timothy to join him.

So he took him, and because all the Jews in that area knew his father was Greek, he circumcised him.

As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.

Meanwhile, the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number every day.

They traveled through Phrygia and Galatia because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching in the province of Asia.

When they reached Mysia, they tried to go on to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do so.

So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

Paul’s Vision

One night, Paul had a vision there. A Macedonian appeared before him and pleaded, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us!’

When he woke up, he told us about this vision, and we understood that the Lord was calling us to share the Good News with the Macedonian people.

So we set out to sea from Troas and sailed directly to Samothrace Island, then the next day to Neapolis.

From there, we traveled inland to Philippi, the leading city of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent several days in that city.

On the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate to the riverbank, where we thought the Jews would gather to pray. We sat down and started talking to the women who were gathering there.

One of them was a God-fearing woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth.

As she listened, the Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.

After she was baptized, along with her household, she invited us to her home.

“If you think I am faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house.”

She convinced us to accept her invitation.

Imprisoned and Freed

One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we encountered a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and made a lot of money for her owners through her fortune-telling.

She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting:

“These people are servants of the Most High God. They will make known to you a way of salvation.”

The girl did this for several days until Paul became annoyed. Then he turned around and said to the spirit:

“In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you, come out of her!”

The spirit left her immediately.

When her owners realized that all the profits they expected had disappeared, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the local authorities.

And when they had turned them over to the officials, they said:

“These people are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They have come here to introduce customs which are not lawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”

So they turned the crowd against them; and the officials tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be flogged.

After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison, instructing the jailer to guard them securely.

Upon receiving these instructions, he threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

Suddenly, a severe earthquake shook the place, causing the prison to rock to its foundations. Immediately, all the doors swung open, and the chains of all the prisoners fell off.

The jailer woke up to see the prison gates wide open. Thinking that the prisoners had escaped, he drew his sword to kill himself,

but Paul shouted to him:

“Don’t hurt yourself! We’re still here.”

The jailer asked for a light, then rushed in and fell at the feet of Paul and Silas.

After he had freed the other prisoners, he led them out and asked:

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They answered:

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you, and your household, will be saved.”

Then they shared the word of God with him and his entire household.

Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds; he and his whole household were baptized immediately.

He took them to his house, prepared a meal for them, and joyfully celebrated his newfound faith in God with his whole household.

The next morning, the officials sent police officers with the order, ‘Let those men go.’

So the jailer said to Paul and Silas:

“The officials have issued an order for you and Silas to be released. You are free to leave and go in peace.”

Paul said to him:

“They flogged us publicly, and jailed us without trial, men who are Roman citizens; and now they want to smuggle us out secretly? Oh no! Let them come themselves and lead us out.”

The police officers reported this to the officials, who were frightened when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

So they came, apologized, took them out, and asked them to leave the town.

Once outside the prison, Paul and Silas went to Lydia’s house, where they met with and encouraged the brothers and sisters, then left.