Day 3: God Is Still at Work Today!
Because GOD NEVER CHANGES, I don't have to worry about the future!
Read or quote the memory verse: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8, Discover God Bible, (NLT).
We're going to read two amazing stories. One story took place more than 2,000 years ago, and the other one happened not long ago. Both show God's unchanging power and His unchanging promise to work for us. First let's read the book of Acts 16:23-30. Paul and Silas were in a jail cell in Rome when God's power released them.
The jailer was ordered to make sure they [Paul and Silas] didn't escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. [Stocks were chains hooked to the wall that went around a prisoner's feet and hands so that the prisoner could not escape]. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 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! 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. [In those days, if the prisoners that the jailer was in charge of, escaped, the jailer was put to death ]. But Paul shouted to him, "Stop! Don't kill yourself! We are all here!"
The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
- Discover God Bible, (NLT).
Can you imagine something like that happening today? Well, guess what, it does happen today! God is at work as much today as He was then! Listen to what happened to some Christians in the African country of Ethiopia.
Centuries after Paul and Silas' escape from the Roman Prison, another group of Christians were imprisoned in Ethiopia for their faith. When they were praying together one night, a horrible thunderstorm filled the sky with lightening and rain. The followers of Jesus kept praying and singing as the thunder roared, the lightning flashed, and the wind blew ferociously. The wind was so powerful that it picked up the heavy iron roof and carried it away. The walls of the prison were made of mud, and when the rain began beating down on them, they quickly melted away. It didn't take long for most of the prisoners who didn't believe in Jesus to jump at the chance for freedom, and they escaped into the night.
The guards decided that the storm must be an act of God against them because they had put Christians in prison, and they were terrified. They begged the Christians to pray and ask God to hold back His anger, and they promised to let them go. The storm quieted, and the guards kept their promise.
(Story adapted from, Fire on the Mountains, by Raymond Davis)
What does the story from God's Word (Acts 16:25-34) and the story of the Christians in Ethiopia have in common? (God's people were in jail, and they were singing and praising God; God caused the walls to crumble. Jailers saw the power of God.)
Some people say that God doesn't do miracles today like He did in Bible times, but there's evidence all around the world to show otherwise. Remember what the memory verse says:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
Although God does not free every Christian from prison, this story shows that God is still at work in the lives of Christians today just like He was in the book of Acts!
What is God doing in your life?
Why does it matter?
Because God Never Changes, I can trust Him to work in amazing ways even today!
Talk with God and Stay Connected to the Vine!
Talk with God. Thank God for His Word (the Bible) and the fact that He is still at work today. Ask Him to help you see His unchanging power in your life.
All Bible Times for God Never Changes