My God My Everything

One of the ways that I can relate with Lydia is that she was a business woman. She not only managed her household, but she ran a thriving business as well. It’s not easy working outside the home. Sometimes it’s a deliberate choice and other times a necessity. Regardless, the additional pressures to succeed add to an already full plate of responsibilites. What I admire about Lydia is that as a believer she used her business to support the cause. She not only sold her purple cloth – she served her Savior. She stayed in business so she would have the money to help God’s servants in their ministry and…

Daily, Lydia made her way to the riverside where she prayed and worshipped God. She knew that in order to successfully meet the stiff competition of the local traders, she needed grace as well as knowledge. Often we get so caught up in our daily affairs that we neglect what is most important, time with God. It’s during this one on one time that we receive peace and understanding. God is very willing to guide and direct those who are willing to take the time to ask and then follow through with His direction. How much better is your day when it begins with God? How many times have the…

Acts 16:15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. The word hospitality is a relative to the word hospital. Rarely do we put those two words together in our culture because the mental images they generate are so different. But a hospital is a place away from your home that is designated to bring healing and wholeness. Hospitality is not about a vacation, but about allowing your home and your presence to bring emotional, mental, and spiritual healing to others. Lydia’s first…

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…