Paul was guided by the Holy Spirit, whom he calls the Spirit of Jesus and a vision of a Macedonian man. The travels were not what you would expect, but clearly were the way God was leading.
It seems Paul may have been joined in Europe by Luke. The personal pronoun changes to "we". It seems the start here was fairly small, but significant in God's eyes. (Cf Zechariah 4:10). Lydia's response is clearly one that has been changed by God - born again of the Holy Spirit. Am I someone who tries to organise a great work for God, or lets God start a lasting work in a small way?
The origin of the persecution was dashed hopes of making money. Previously, it had been because they were speaking of Jesus. This clearly wasn't an immediate reaction, but one that had taken days to get to. We mustn't rush into rash decisions.
Paul and Silas were calm and rejoicing, because they knew why they were being persecuted. Paul played to the legal system in maximising the opportunity for the gospel. He used his cunning for the cause of Christ.
The jailer believed because he saw something different about Paul and Silas. He saw the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Paul was willing to preach the gospel anywhere it hadn't already, so as to give others the opportunity to believe. He clearly preached the word of God and could be tested against the Scriptures. Those who believed came from a diverse cross section. Opportunity for strategic witness may only last a short time - we must take them when we can.
The Bereans are described as being more noble than the Thessalonians because they search the Scriptures to see if what Paul was saying was true. We must do likewise.
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