Have you every had moments when you knew without a doubt that you were in the right place at the right time with details falling into place in only ways that God Himself could have orchestrated? That’s exactly what happened to Paul and Lydia. Paul had been obedient to go exactly where the Holy Spirit was leading him and Lydia was worshiping God on the Sabbath in the only place that made sense with other believers. Their paths crossed and God’s will was done. The doors were flung wide open for an entire continent to hear the message of the Gospel. Not only was Lydia in the right place at…

When Paul and Silas arrived in Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia, they stayed several days. On the Sabbath they went outside the city gate to the river, where they expected to find a place of prayer. They sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.  One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.  (Acts 16:12-14) When entering a new town, Paul would usually stop at the local synogogue and share the gospel message. Upon arriving in…

I always find it so amazing when I’m able to see something from someone else’s perspective. Recently I had two situations where a different perspective changed my whole outlook. We moved next to the railroad yard a few months ago. The noise is incredible and has caused many sleepless nights. One night my granddaughters stayed the night. They also live near a train track and my oldest granddaughter often goes to her window to watch as the trains pass by because she is facinated with them. As she was looking out the back of the property she said “Grandma, you are so lucky to have seven train tracks by your…

Have you ever had an experience where you knew God was calling you to do something and when you answered the call of God, you were excited and energized about the possibility of service and you couldn’t wait to get where you were going or do what you needed to do. But it turned out to be so unlike what you expected. Sometimes our heart is willing to serve God, but our circumstances cause us to draw back or limit our service and we are often quick to allow those circumstances to define our level of service to God. If things get hard, we look for a way out or…

We like to think of Paul as a bulldozer, plowing a path of Christianity everywhere he went. But Paul ran into road blocks too. Not just the road blocks of persecution and imprisonment placed in his path by people – but there were also road blocks put in place by the Holy Spirit. One of the hardest things to do is accept when a path that we have been following becomes closed to us. It’s tempting to try and climb over the rubble and continue on even though God has placed it there to deter us. We have to learn to discern whether the road block is man made and…

I recently attended a concert that offered the opportunity to sponsor a child in a foreign country. Their stories are often heart breaking and I was touched by the many responses in the crowd. I was also reminded that we have a mission field right here outside our own front doors. The definition of Macedonian cry is an outcry for help. Within our own towns and communities are many people who need help. We’ve all experienced a year like no other and our new normal is anything but normal. The fallout from 2020 has left many depressed, devastated, lost and hurting. The outcry is great….”Come and help us.” We’ve all…

If you’ve accepted Christ’s invitation to come, have you obeyed His commission to go? During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”  After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. – Acts 16:9-10. I was watching a TV series about first responders. A fireman was giving a tour of the fire station to a young group of kids and his response has stuck with me. He said that when you hear the sirens you don’t need to be afraid, they are…

A message from The Daily Bread Reflect & Pray O stir me, O stir me, Lord, till all my heart is filled with compassion for those who are lost. Until Your compelling love drives me to pray and follow Your leading, not counting the cost. –Anon. When the apostle Paul saw in a vision the man from Macedonia, it change the history of the world. Heeding the man’s plea to ‘come over to Macedonia,’ Paul altered his plans. It was in Macedonia he met Lydia and led her to the Lord, and it was there that the Gospel message was first given in the Western World. All Christians should be…

The apostle Paul was on his 2nd missionary journey and was revisiting the churches in Asia Minor to encourage the believers. He was traveling with Silas and desired to take the Gospel message to other cities in Asia. But God had a different plan for them. He prevented them from going to the other cities in Asia so they turned aside and headed towards a different region. Upon reaching the border they were again prevented from going further into those cities by the Holy Spirit, so they passed by and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over…