Acts 16:13-14

God calls us to Him and opens our eyes to the wonder and    the daily    joy  of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

Joy in the Lord is our strength! 

Satan seeks to steal it… don’t let him.

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts.” (From Paul’s letter to the Romans) And yet, in our topsy turvy world, it is easy to forget that each one of us carries these gifts, and the capacity to spill them.

The powerlessness of kindness, of senseless kindness, is the secret of its immortality. It can never be conquered... Human history is not the battle of good struggling to overcome evil. It is a battle fought by a great evil struggling to crush a small kernel of human kindness. Vasily Grossman “Sabbath Moments”

Romans 5:1 (ESV) "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Life in Christ is much more than a rescue from wrath and an assurance of heaven. In addition to future glory, our justification brings benefits to enjoy in the present (pun intended).]

Joy in God Himself

Our blessing of justification is finding joy in God Himself. Because Jesus Christ has reconciled us to the Father, (Romans 5:11) we have the opportunity and freedom every single day to draw near to the Lord and find satisfaction for our souls. First5 

Acts 16:13-14

13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. 14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. The New King James Version

Purple cloth was a very valuable good, which only people of great financial means could afford. Lydia, the first convert in the region, has the financial means to become a key supporter of the early church. Faithlife Study Bible

According to Jewish custom, a congregation consisted of ten households. If ten male household heads could be found in a city, a synagogue was formed. If not, a place of prayer was established, usually near a river under the open sky. Paul’s habit was to go first to the synagogue of a new city. However in Philippi, he searched for a Jewish prayer meeting. 

Thyatira was well known for purple dyes and cloth dyeing. Purple dye had to be gathered drop by drop from a certain shellfish. Because it was so expensive, purple dye was used on garments worn by royalty. As an artisan in purple dyes, Lydia was a wealthy woman who had come to Philippi to practice her trade. Paul preached the gospel, but the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to it. The NKJV Study Bible

A solemn assembly the worshippers of God must have, if possible, upon the sabbath day. If we have not synagogues, we must be thankful for more private places, and resort to them; not forsaking the assembling together, as our opportunities are. 

Among the hearers of Paul was a woman, named Lydia. She had an honest calling, which the historian notices to her praise. Yet though she had a calling to mind, she found time to improve advantages for her soul. It will not excuse us from religious duties, to say, We have a trade to mind; for have not we also a God to serve, and souls to look after? Religion does not call us from our business in the world, but directs us in it. 

Pride, prejudice, and sin shut out the truths of God, till his grace makes way for them into the understanding and affections; and the Lord alone can open the heart to receive and believe his word. We must believe in Jesus Christ; there is no coming to God as a Father, but by the Son as Mediator. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Luke 24:45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

Revelation 1:11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

Revelation 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:

Revelation 2:24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.