King Herod is pleased to gain popularity by executing Christians. He did this to John the Baptist for speaking boldly against sin and at that time it bothered him to carry it out. Now he is openly killing Christians because it pleased the people and he gained their praise. He beheaded James (Apostle John’s brother) the son of Zebedee. His next target was Peter and we see him delivered by an Angel of the Lord. The church was praying at the time he was released, but had to see Peter to believe it was him. Wow, that speaks volumes about believing God to answer literally. Tell “James and the brothers.” This is James, Jesus’ brother who is a leader in the Jerusalem Church Tyre and Sidon
So far God has removed King Herod, Ananias & Sapphira, transformed Paul, deal with Simon the Sorcerer and the message is being spread.
Do you personalize the promise of Abraham in Genesis 12?
What capacity does God have to bring a person down?
Hope you have a great day,
Dan
1 comment:
You said it well in your description of Chapter 12! And it's true.. Herod's actions shows us that the path of sin leads to destruction. And in reference to the believers who prayed... it is so much like us to pray for something, but be surprised when those prayers are answered.. it shows our lack of faith. I thought it was interesting that during his release Peter didn't understand what was going on, but thought it was a vision -- it struck me that this is exactly what we are like in different situations in life. In the middle of a storm or unexpected life trial, we don't understand what God is doing, but afterwards we can see clearly how God provided for us.
Something else interesting that caught my attention was in vs.17 when Peter motioned for them to be silent... Sometimes after God shows up in a big way in our lives we get so overcome with excitement that we forget to pause and recognize how God stepped in and saved the day... I think it serves as a reminder to take that pause and give God the praise and glory He deserves. It also shows, like you were saying, that we shouldn't be amazed when God works, because we know how powerful He is.. so why are we in shock? God has proven Himself to us time and time again... maybe we should start acting like it.
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