Top Ten of 2023: Joy in Jail – #9

We’re shopping and wrapping and baking and… ready for a little break, right? So don’t start the next dozen gingerbread cookies. Put your feet up while this batch bakes and enjoy the 9th most downloaded episode in 2023… joy in jail!

Special thanks to Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, for bringing us the Bible For Busy People this Christmas season!

Show Notes:

• Who Is Jesus? Let us introduce you!
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Transcription:

We’re shopping and wrapping and baking and ready for a little break, right? So don’t start the next dozen gingerbread cookies. Put your feet up while this batch bakes and enjoy the ninth most downloaded episode of 2023. Joy in Jail. So far, we’ve gone looking for joy at a wedding and a funeral, so today we’re going to jail. Hi, I’m Erica. Welcome to the Bible for Busy People. I’m looking forward to continuing our quest for real joy, the kind that sticks to your spirit like glue, especially when the going gets tough. Who is the most joyful person you’ve ever met? I just believe it’s going to be somebody in your life who’s been through a lot and who keeps on trusting the Lord. I thought about this question for days until I saw my friend Katie’s face pop up in my Facebook newsfeed. Without a doubt, she’s the most joyful person I know.

A bunch of years ago, Katie was involved in a car accident and now she lives life in a wheelchair, and she’s full of life. Now, it wasn’t like that in the beginning. My friend actually hit rock bottom early on, but she discovered as Pastor Tony Evans likes to say that God is the rock at the bottom. And these days Katie absolutely radiates joy and it comes straight from the Lord. You know the kind I’m talking about? With her faithful service dog by her side, she goes to worship concerts, she rides ATVs. She’s always up for an outdoor adventure with her friends. Katie says,

A joyful life is rooted in God and gratitude

and I can’t agree more. So how do you and I keep our joy when the going gets tough? The hunt for joy continues in Acts chapter 16, beginning in verse 16. We’re going to jail. This is Luke, the doctor. I like to call him the reporter writing now.

One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” 18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her. 19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. 20 “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.” 22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

Such an incredible account. Paul and Silas must have been in so much pain. Remember, their feet were fastened in the stocks. They were severely beaten with wooden rods, but still they prayed and sang to God in that prison cell, and though they were in jail, their souls were free. My favorite part of that whole story is our takeaway verse. The fact that the prisoners were listening. I believe joy was possible in that moment because Paul and Silas were smack dab in the middle of God’s will. They looked up instead of down. They sang themselves out of their circumstances, and God wound up setting the jailer and his family free as a result. That must have brought Paul and Silas so much joy. And think about it, the jailer washed the wounds of Paul and Silas. And Paul and Silas shared the news with the jailer that his heart could be clean. Those wounds inside his heart could be healed. God was working in each of their lives in a beautiful way. So the next time you find yourself in the prison of tough circumstances, look up knowing there’s a greater purpose. Pray and sing through it. Sing yourself out of your circumstances because others are listening, and God will bring great good out of it. Until next time, you are really loved.

Thank you for making space to study the Bible with me today. If you feel something stirring in your soul, that’s the God who made you, saying, I love you and I want to know you. It’s what Christmas is all about. Jesus came for you so that your soul would know its worth. He came to bring joy to the world, and to your world. It’s the most beautiful love story ever written, and it’s true. It’s the greatest rescue mission in history, and it was for you. If you want to respond to that stirring in your soul, to know Jesus a little better, please take a moment and check out our show notes, where you’ll find lots of hope and encouragement for your journey.

The Bible for Busy people is brought to you this Christmas season by Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. Every day and every night, their team is on a mission to share the good news with our neighbors who are homeless. Like the angels who came on the night, Jesus was born. They make sure that every person who walks through the doors of the Mission knows that there is hope because Jesus came, and how much He loves them. Every person they meet on the street encounters the love of Christ through a friendly smile, a warm blanket, a cup of cocoa, and an invitation to take that next step toward healing from addiction or mental illness. If you want to be part of making sure every soul knows its worth in Seattle this Christmas, volunteer or donate at ugm.org. Thank you and Merry Christmas.

This podcast is one branch of a Christmas tree called Purposely, a network designed to connect you with life-giving conversations, and to inspire you to find and live out God’s purpose for your life. If you’ve got a pulse, you’ve got a purpose.