Wednesday, May 14th - Acts 12

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(I’m out of town for a few days, so I’m posting a few days early. If you’re looking for chapters 10 or 11, you can find them by either scrolling or clicking on a link. – bh)

The church’s first martyr. An almost-comical prison break. A gruesome judgment of God on a worldly leader. An action-packed chapter! Enjoy the reading…then, let’s break it down.

INSIGHTS

James, son of Zebedee, one of the two “sons of thunder”, becomes the first apostle to lose his life for his faith. He, along with Peter and John, were the three most well-known leaders of the movement, so this would have been seen as a terrible loss. Interesting that it only gets a passing mention in the Biblical text.

Herod imprisons Peter because it brought pleasure to one of his political constituencies – though he himself could not have cared less about the Jews or one of their “sects.” Be careful when politicians cater to you – it can often come from someplace rather than the heart!

I love it when Peter is led out of prison by the angel, and is taken down a single street, and then…you’re on your own Peter! If I were Peter, I would have liked for the angel to keep on leading a bit longer. But, God’s level of interaction with us is up to Him, not us. God often delivers us from something, then leaves it to our initiative to move on from there.

While Peter was in prison, “the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” In fact, “many people had gathered and were praying.” They were meeting to do this in the evening, during what is normally sleep time. Then, after Peter visits them and tells his story, he instructs them to go tell James and some others, and it says he went to yet another place. Ministry doesn’t fit into our 8-to-5, don’t-bother-me-at-home, don’t-call-after-9:00 lives, does it?

They’re praying for Peter’s release. When

it happens, they don’t even believe it. When we pray, do we really expect answers? Or, like these at the prayer meeting, do we pray out of duty rather than genuine expectation?

They prayed for Peter’s release, and God answered! There was much rejoicing in the church, though this “yes” answer from God ended up taking the lives of 16 soldiers, who were executed for something they could not have controlled. 16 families rocked, some little children now fatherless. We forget when we pray that many dominoes fall in a lot of different directions in whatever way God answers.

Finally, Herod. As a worship leader, I have enjoyed sharing this passage, then charging the people to “praise God, or else you’ll be eaten by worms and die!” A bit out of context, I know…but, do you see how seriously God takes our praise (or lack thereof)?

“But the word of God continued to increase and spread.”

CHALLENGES

1. Pray deep into the night with your church family, and expect God to do great things.

2. Does God have you by the hand, unlocking doors for you? Or does he have you improvising the best you can? Either way, keep believing, and keep moving.

3. Praise God…I mean it! (More importantly, HE means it!)

I love Acts 13! It’s time for Paul to get launched as a missionary…great stuff ahead!

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