Friday, March 20th

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Friday, March 20

Acts 16: 25-34

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Diet programs and weight loss plans thrive on “before and after” photos. The “before” photo features a somewhat overweight and out-of-shape looking man or woman in a bathing suit. The idea is to get you, as the observer, to think, “Wow, that’s unfortunate! I wonder if I look like that?”

Then there is an “after” photo in which the same person is in the same bathing suit, but looks like a model or a body builder with a svelte physique and six-pack abs. Now you think, “Wow, maybe I could look like that!”

In this story that only takes Luke 10 verses to tell, we see a before and after picture of the jailer. He goes from a man  convinced his best option is suicide to a man who celebrates the hope of eternal life by being baptized in the middle of the night. More than that, he is transformed from a man hardened by the brutality of prison life to a man who tenderly washes and cares for the wounds of men he considered criminals just hours earlier.

And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

The power of the gospel to transform lives can be summarized by just such “before and after” pictures.

Before: hopeless and considering ending his own life.

After: Rejoicing with his entire household.

Before: Hardened and brutal prison guard.

After: Tender and compassionate care for two men he would have once considered little more than trash.

Before: Spiritually lost and confused, assuming the gods didn’t know or care about his life.

After: Saved by the grace of a loving Lord, baptized in his name.

Our church recently filmed our own version of of “before and after” stories. We gave people a piece of cardboard and asked them to write on one side words that described their lives before putting their faith in Jesus. One the other side they described their lives after Jesus came into their lives.

You can watch the video by going to fbcg.com or clicking this link.

As you finish “10 Minutes with God” for this week, consider creating your own “cardboard testimony”; write your own “before and after” story!

If you aren’t sure you have an “after” story yet...re-read the story of the Philippian jailer and allow Jesus to make his story your story!

I Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Pastor Brian Coffey