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Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Your Nightly Scripture, a calming

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Speaker 1: scripture-centered devotional podcast designed to help you end each day

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Speaker 1: with God's Word in your mind and on your heart.

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Speaker 1: Right after this short word from our sponsors, we'll reflect

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Speaker 1: on tonight's scripture and Acts chapter 16. Tonight's scripture reflection

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Speaker 1: is written by Clarence Haynes and read by Gary Eichberger.

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Speaker 1: Acts chapter 16. Paul came to Derbe and then Lystra,

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Speaker 1: where a disciple named Timothy lived. whose mother was Jewish

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Speaker 1: and a believer, but whose father was Greek. The believers

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Speaker 1: at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted

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Speaker 1: to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised

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Speaker 1: him because of the Jews who lived in that area,

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Speaker 1: for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

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Speaker 1: As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the

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Speaker 1: decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for

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Speaker 1: the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in

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Speaker 1: the faith and grew daily in numbers. Paul and his

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Speaker 1: companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having

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Speaker 1: been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word

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Speaker 1: in the province of Asia. When they came to the

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Speaker 1: border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the

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Speaker 1: Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they

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Speaker 1: passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night,

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Speaker 1: Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing

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Speaker 1: and begging him, Come over to Macedonia and help us.

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Speaker 1: After Paul had seen the vision, he got ready at

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Speaker 1: once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called

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Speaker 1: us to preach the gospel to them. From Troas, we

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Speaker 1: put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and

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Speaker 1: the next day, we went on to Neapolis. From there,

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Speaker 1: we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony in the leading

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Speaker 1: city of that district of Macedonia, and we stayed there

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Speaker 1: several days. On the Sabbath, we went outside the city

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Speaker 1: gate to the river, where we expected to find a

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Speaker 1: place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak

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Speaker 1: to the women who had gathered there. One of those

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Speaker 1: listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia,

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Speaker 1: a dealer of purple cloth. She was a whisperer of God.

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Speaker 1: The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.

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Speaker 1: When she and the members of her household were baptized,

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Speaker 1: she invited us to her home. If you consider me

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Speaker 1: a believer in the Lord, she said, come and stay

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Speaker 1: at my house. And she persuaded us. Once, when we

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Speaker 1: were going to the place of prayer, we were met

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Speaker 1: by a female slave who had a spirit by which

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Speaker 1: she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of

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Speaker 1: money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and

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Speaker 1: the rest of us, shouting, These men are servants of

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Speaker 1: the Most High God, who are telling you the way

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Speaker 1: to be saved. She kept this up for many days. Finally,

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Speaker 1: Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said

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Speaker 1: to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ, I

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Speaker 1: command you to come out of her. At that moment,

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Speaker 1: the spirit left her. When her owners realized that their

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Speaker 1: hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and

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Speaker 1: Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.

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Speaker 1: They brought them before the magistrates and said, These men

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Speaker 1: are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar

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Speaker 1: by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.

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Speaker 1: The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas,

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Speaker 1: and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten

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Speaker 1: with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were

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Speaker 1: thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard

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Speaker 1: them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them

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Speaker 1: in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

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Speaker 1: About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns

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Speaker 1: to the Lord, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly,

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Speaker 1: there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of

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Speaker 1: the prison were shaken. At once, all the prison doors

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Speaker 1: flew open and everyone's chains came loose. The jailer woke up,

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Speaker 1: and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew

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Speaker 1: his sword and was about to kill himself because he

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Speaker 1: thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, Don't harm yourself.

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Speaker 1: We are all here. The jailer called for lights, rushed in,

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Speaker 1: and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought

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Speaker 1: them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to

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Speaker 1: be saved? They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and

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Speaker 1: you will be saved, you and your household. Then they

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Speaker 1: spoke the word of the Lord to him and to

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Speaker 1: all the others in his house. At the hour of

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Speaker 1: the night, The jailer took them and washed their wounds.

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Speaker 1: Then immediately, he and all his household were baptized. The

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Speaker 1: jailer brought them into his house and set a meal

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Speaker 1: before them. He was filled with joy because he had

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Speaker 1: come to believe in God, he and his whole household.

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Speaker 1: When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to

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Speaker 1: the jailer with the order, Release those men. The jailer

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Speaker 1: told Paul, The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas

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Speaker 1: be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace. But

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Speaker 1: Paul said to the officers, They beat us publicly without

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Speaker 1: a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw

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Speaker 1: us into prison. And now do they want to get

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Speaker 1: rid of us quietly? No, let them come themselves and

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Speaker 1: escort us out. The officers reported this to the magistrates,

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Speaker 1: and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens,

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Speaker 1: they were alarmed. They came to appease them, and escorted

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Speaker 1: them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.

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Speaker 1: After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they

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Speaker 1: went to Lydia's house, where they met with their brothers

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Speaker 1: and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left. Your walk

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Speaker 1: with Jesus should be marked by maturity. One measure of

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Speaker 1: our spiritual maturity is the way we respond during the

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Speaker 1: trials of life. In the life of Paul and Silas,

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Speaker 1: they had every right to complain. All they were doing

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Speaker 1: was preaching the gospel and obeying what God had called

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Speaker 1: them to do. However, their obedience led them to being

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Speaker 1: beaten and placed in jail. I don't think any of

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Speaker 1: us would have been surprised if the next thing we

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Speaker 1: read was that Paul and Silas were angry about their

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Speaker 1: unfair treatment. Instead, we find something quite different. About midnight,

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Speaker 1: Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,

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Speaker 1: and the other prisoners were listening to them. There are

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Speaker 1: two points of application from this verse I want to

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Speaker 1: help you with. The first is that Paul and Silas

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Speaker 1: were praying and singing. In the moment, they should have

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Speaker 1: been frustrated. They were lifting their voices to God in

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Speaker 1: prayer and worship. This is what a mature response looks like.

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Speaker 1: How is it possible that that this is how they

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Speaker 1: would respond to their difficult situation. It's because their eyes

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Speaker 1: were fixed in the right direction. The hope we have

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Speaker 1: in Christ is not determined by the circumstances of life.

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Speaker 1: This hope goes beyond our trials, beyond our difficulties, and

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Speaker 1: even beyond the grave. In the most challenging moments of life,

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Speaker 1: focusing on the hope in Christ that goes beyond anything

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Speaker 1: in this life can lead you to sing and worship.

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Speaker 1: During the period of slavery in America, many enslaved African

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Speaker 1: men and women were forced to work under unimaginable and

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Speaker 1: horrific conditions. Many were separated from their families, their freedom

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Speaker 1: was denied, and they faced injustice daily. Despite these circumstances,

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Speaker 1: many gathered in what were known as hush harbors. These

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Speaker 1: were secret meeting places hidden deep in the woods where

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Speaker 1: they could worship. They would sing songs of hope, knowing

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Speaker 1: that even though their bodies were in chains, their souls

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Speaker 1: were free because they were in Christ. As with Paul

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Speaker 1: and Silas, their circumstances did not hinder their worship. As

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Speaker 1: you think of your situation in life today, know that

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Speaker 1: you too can worship because your hope goes beyond this life.

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Speaker 1: There is one more simple truth to bring to your attention.

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Speaker 1: This same verse says, And the other prisoners were listening

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Speaker 1: to them. When you go through trials, people are watching you.

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Speaker 1: Once people know you are a follower of Christ, they

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Speaker 1: watch your response and the way you endure trials. Are

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Speaker 1: you singing, praying, and worshiping, or are you grumbling and complaining?

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Speaker 1: Only one of these responses speaks to your hope in Christ.

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Speaker 1: While you may not see it, the way you navigate

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Speaker 1: these moments speaks to those around you, because they are

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Speaker 1: listening to your life to see what song it is playing. Lastly,

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Speaker 1: the trials you endure are not just for you. Yes,

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Speaker 1: they will challenge you, mold you, and mature you. Beyond that,

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Speaker 1: they can influence those around them and potentially open doors

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Speaker 1: for the gospel. Paul and Silas' worship led to the

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Speaker 1: jailer's salvation and that of his household. Who knows if

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Speaker 1: the difficult situation you are in is God's way of

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Speaker 1: reaching someone with the gospel. that you might not reach

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Speaker 1: any other way. My friend, I encourage you to worship

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Speaker 1: through the trial. God is the same good God before, during,

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Speaker 1: and after the trial. When you worship, those around you

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Speaker 1: may wonder what kind of God you are serving that

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Speaker 1: you will continue to praise even when everything is falling apart.

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Speaker 1: That might be your open door to tell of how

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Speaker 1: wonderful Jesus is. Lord, I am facing a difficult situation

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Speaker 1: right now, and sometimes it is hard to see where

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Speaker 1: it is going. In these moments, give me a psalm

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Speaker 1: of worship and praise in my heart. Let me fix

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Speaker 1: my gaze not on what is happening around me, but

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Speaker 1: on you, knowing that your goodness is not determined by

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Speaker 1: these circumstances. Help me to always worship and pray, because

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Speaker 1: this not only encourages my soul, but it may also

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Speaker 1: provide hope for someone who is listening to my life.

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Speaker 1: Even now, I begin to lift my hands and voice

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Speaker 1: in worship to you. Even if the circumstances do not

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Speaker 1: immediately change, let my faith and hope in you remain unshaken.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for your Spirit who lives in me, who

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Speaker 1: draws me close to you, and your presence that walks

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Speaker 1: with me regardless of what is happening in my life.

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Speaker 1: Let this be the focus of my life each day,

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Speaker 1: and each night. I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Speaker 1: How did tonight's scripture speak to you? Share your thoughts

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Speaker 1: in the Your Nightly Scripture Forum discussion.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to Your Nightly Scripture. Tonight's scripture

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Speaker 2: was read by From the New International Version by Biblica,

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Speaker 2: all rights reserved. If tonight's episode blessed you, be sure

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Speaker 2: and we'll see you tomorrow night. Thank you.