Four individuals are converted to Christ in Acts 16, and each one’s story is both unique and surprising. First we are introduced to Timothy, a mature young man who will become like a son to the apostle Paul, and a trusted partner in gospel ministry. Timothy’s mother was a Jewish believer in Jesus, while his father “was a Greek”—which suggests he was not a believer and he was now dead. In light of the verdict reached by the Jerusalem council that circumcision was not to be demanded of Gentile converts (chapter 15), it may seem shockingly inconsistent that Paul would now have Timothy circumcised! But since no one was insisting on Timothy’s circumcision as a requirement for his salvation, it made sense for the sake of Jewish evangelism (v 1-5). Another unexpected development occurs when the apostles’ travel plans are frustrated and the Spirit of God calls them to preach the gospel in Macedonia instead. Paul wanted to take the gospel into Asia Minor, but God had closed those doors, while opening doors to an even greater spiritual harvest in the land we would call Europe. Luke now joins the missionary team—note change in v 11 to first person plural, “we,”—as they travel first to the city of Philippi. Here they meet Lydia, a Gentile proselyte to Judaism, who receives the gospel warmly and wants to be a disciple of Jesus. It turns out she is from Thyatira, a city in Asia, where the apostles had wanted to go and preach! (v 6-15). While the businesswoman Lydia is brought to Christ calmly through Paul’s exposition of Scripture, two others come to faith through more extraordinary means: first, a fortune-telling slave girl undergoes an exorcism of an evil spirit, then a jailer experiences a violent and terrifying earthquake. There is great variety in the ways God’s Spirit brings about the inward change that Scripture calls regeneration! As the demon departs from the slave girl, so the hopes of making a profit depart from her masters. Soon the city is in an uproar, and Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown into prison (v 16-24). What happens next is as exciting as any story we’ll ever hear. Suddenly there is an earthquake so strong that the prison doors open. The jailer wakes up, assumes his prisoners have escaped, and is ready to take his own life rather than face the punishment he would receive for not securing the inmates. So when he hears the cry, “We’re still here!”—the jailer is more than ready to hear the gospel from these two men who had been joyfully singing praises to God from their jail cell. He asks about the way of salvation, and Paul’s answer is clear and straightforward: “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” As with Lydia, the whole household is then converted, and immediately baptized (v 25-40). For further meditation: