Acts 16:30-31 - Then he [the Philippian jailer] ... 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."
This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.
Paul McGowan likes to talk about "Hi-Fi Evangelism." Hi-Fi stands for "high fidelity." For a music recording, Paul says it refers to a sound system of such quality that you can hear the breath of the jazz saxophonist, or the overtones of guitar strings as their reverberations move through a room. Listening to Paul McGowan talk about hi-fi—you learn that he's really into high-end audio. He calls himself an "audiophile"—an audio-lover in pursuit of perfect sound reproduction. And he aims to spread the "gospel" of hi-fi, one listener at a time. But he cautions other zealous hi-fi evangelists, because it's "easy to overwhelm newcomers with jargon and technical details." Amongst themselves, audiophiles can get carried away, going on about "sample rate" and "bit depth," subwoofers and converters. But the evangelist, McGowan says, should "keep it simple and relatable." Share stories about your first high-fidelity experience. Share your passion, and invite others into "a world where music isn't just background noise, but a journey of discovery, emotion, and unparalleled clarity."
Luke, the author of the book of Acts and the Gospel that bears his name, is also called an "evangelist." His account of all that Jesus began to do and continued to do follows some of the lines of Paul McGowan's evangelistic advice. Luke tells a story—a very long and passionate story—comprised of several smaller scenes. Acts 16 is one of them. Among other things, this chapter is about "salvation." Luke uses the root word for "saved" three times in chapter 16. But it's not abstract discourse about the idea of salvation. Luke shows us salvation—how it happens, what it looks like, and what it does to people. Acts 16 may not answer many of the theoretical questions about salvation that come up when Bible-lovers get together (they'll have to go to the Bible's letters for that). But Luke is an evangelist. Salvation isn't just an idea for him. He is inviting us into a world where salvation is more than religious background music in an otherwise noisy secular life.
In Acts, salvation is when the Holy Spirit brings an enduring moment of life-changing clarity into someone's life, clarity that comes through simple trust in Jesus. Luke shows us salvation: how Jesus saves us for hospitality and community, like what the households of Lydia and the Philippian jailer experienced. Luke shows how Jesus saves us for an unpredictable, life-long journey of discovery, like what Paul and his traveling companions came to know.
How might the Holy Spirit be leading you and others into a hi-fi experience of salvation this week? Remember, we don't need to "sell" anybody on Jesus. Let's just keep it simple—share our stories and our passion, and expect Jesus to give us more to share, to lead us into deeper clarity, hospitality, and community, so that we can spread His high-fidelity Gospel, one listener at a time.
WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, thank You for saving me. Help me to share Your salvation with others. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker for The Lutheran Hour.
Reflection Questions:
1. Read Acts 16. How does Luke describe the Holy Spirit's work in verses 6-10? Why is this significant?
2. In verses 11-34, there is planned evangelism and unplanned evangelism. What helps you be better prepared for both?
3. In verses 35-40, the apostles don't evangelize, but they do challenge the city leaders to be better in their vocations (even as unbelievers). Where does God give you the opportunity to do likewise?
Today's Bible Readings: Proverbs 30-31 Acts 5:22-42
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