Panboots (Acts 17:10-11)

The first time our family played Scrabble, we were all novices. When I eyed a potential triple word bonus, I seized the opportunity with the word, “PANBOOTS.”

“What does that mean?” My daughter exclaimed in laughter.

“Panboots! You don’t know what this is?” I asked in mock seriousness. “We wore them a lot in Denver and St. Louis. When the snow is very slushy, regular boots won’t do the trick. We had these wider boots that allowed us more stability. Wider boots...panboots!”

My daughter and wife naively accepted my absurd explanation. After the game, which I handily won, I confessed my lie. To this day, panboots has become part of our everyday language in our family. When it is storming, my daughter will say, “Dad, don’t forget to wear your panboots!”

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Acts 17:10-11

If my family had been like the Bereans, I would have been caught red-handed! The Bible records how this group of Jews eagerly searched the Scriptures to make sure that what Paul and Silas were preaching was true. The Bereans held them accountable and God blessed them for their faithfulness by bringing them to salvation through Jesus Christ.

The Bereans did not need any assistance, not even panboots! They only needed the call and direction of the Holy Spirit to bring them into God’s Kingdom.

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.