October 24, 2020: SOAP #3978:  Job 15; Acts 19-20

Scripture:  Acts (NIV) 20:7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight….
9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!”
11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.

Observation:  Paul spoke till midnight, and people listened.  Then after a time of excitement, Paul went back to speaking.  He talked until daylight!  

As I contemplated this passage, I became amazed at how the people valued the preaching of Paul.  They stayed with him all night!  Then the Holy Spirit showed me that these believers did not have a Bible in their home.  There may have been some scrolls with some of the Old Testament books in the synagogue in their town.  But there was nothing written to have in their homes.  They did not have the opportunity to rise early in the morning and spend some time in prayer and reading of God’s Word.  Their appetite for God’s Word could only be met by meeting together to hear someone bring an anointed sermon based on the scriptures.  They would have stayed longer!  

Application:  What an honor to have the Word of the Creator of the universe in my possession!  What an amazing privilege it is to have the Words of the one who loved me so much that He sent His Son to die in payment for my sins!! What in our home could be more valuable than the Word of Almighty God!!!

What could be a greater tragedy than to have the Word of God so available yet be too busy to read it for myself! 

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, burn the Word of God deep in my heart.  May I never be satisfied with leaving it in a book.  Develop a hunger for the Word.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!