SOAP Reading Acts 16

SOAP READING - Acts 16

[SCRIPTURE]
Acts 16:16-21 NIV
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. [17] This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." [18] She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her. [19] When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. [20] They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar [21] by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."

[OBSERVATION]
Paul and Silas are imprisoned because of their witness. Facing dire circumstances they break out in singing and an earthquake happens and the prison doors are opened.

[APPLICATION]
It has been said that it is not what happens to us in life that determines the fullness of our lives, but rather how we respond to what happens to us. 
As we face the challenges of life, let us respond with faith and confidence in Christ. 

[PRAYER]
God thank you for saving us—freeing us, and giving us victory over sin, death and the devil. 
Give me the strength to walk in this freedom each and every day.