Acts 16:25-34
Reading Beth Moore's "Paul, 90 Days on his Journey of Faith" we see two severly beaten (within an inch of their lives) servants of God taken to a dungeon, placed in stocks, unable to move, in excruciating pain begin to sing! Probably death would have been a relief at that moment, yet they began to sing and with each note were strengthened and encouraged despite their ever worsening situation.
Paul and Silas were denied their freedom in every sense of the word except in prayer and praise. And because they rose above their physical stiuation to praise God they were given the opportunity to miraculously be set free and their jailer and his whole family were ushered into the family of God.
I have been blessed to praise God in choirs, on praise teams, duets, solos, and even lead praise music for over forty years but find myself participating in none of these activties at present. However, these scripture verses convict me that simply praising the Lord in the privacy of my own home is probably more important to God because it is from my heart without consideration or distraction of pleasing mankind! Glory be to God!
Reading Beth Moore's "Paul, 90 Days on his Journey of Faith" we see two severly beaten (within an inch of their lives) servants of God taken to a dungeon, placed in stocks, unable to move, in excruciating pain begin to sing! Probably death would have been a relief at that moment, yet they began to sing and with each note were strengthened and encouraged despite their ever worsening situation.
Paul and Silas were denied their freedom in every sense of the word except in prayer and praise. And because they rose above their physical stiuation to praise God they were given the opportunity to miraculously be set free and their jailer and his whole family were ushered into the family of God.
I have been blessed to praise God in choirs, on praise teams, duets, solos, and even lead praise music for over forty years but find myself participating in none of these activties at present. However, these scripture verses convict me that simply praising the Lord in the privacy of my own home is probably more important to God because it is from my heart without consideration or distraction of pleasing mankind! Glory be to God!
