Category: Devotions

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Act normally

Act normally

Acts 12:8

“Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him.”
Put on your clothes
Put on your sandals
Wrap your cloak around you
Let God do what only He can do.
But He will not do what only we can do.
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The hurt from God

The hurt from God

Acts 12:7

“Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.”
He struck.
Did you see that?
Peter had been released from prison before by God, maybe that experience in the past enabled him to sleep peacefully that night, knowing that if he was going to escape death it would be God who would do it again.
But Peter wasn’t staying awake waiting for God to come, he was asleep. He was at peace whatever happened. He was so asleep the Angel had to hit him.
Sometimes God has to hurt us in order to free us.
We often interpret the hurt as from the enemy. But maybe that recent striking was of God. Maybe He is waking you up. Maybe the disappointment and perhaps the embarrassment you felt was a wake up call. No one likes the alarm clock to go off like that. We resist it, we press the snooze button, we say I will get up later, I will change my position but not now.
Now Peter!
Don’t carry on as if nothing has happened. I struck you for a reason.
This is not the time to pray, but to move.
Use the hurt. This is your moment.
Has God been trying to waken you?
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Sleep is possible

Sleep is possible

Acts 12:6

“The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.”
It’s the night before your trial, life is looking gloomy and short, your friend has already been killed, others are being mistreated, your worst day is in front of you. You are bound by two heavy chains, you cannot escape and there is a soldier either side of you. No one is coming in and no one is leaving without the permission of the soldiers at the entrance.
How do you cope in that situation?
Peter was asleep.
How is it possible to sleep in this situation?
An 18th century children’s prayer is worded this way:
‘Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.’
The Psalmist writes:
“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8
How was Peter able to sleep in such a situation? The same as you are able to. He was at peace in the Lord.
When you know God has you and not the chains that bind you then you can sleep in the arms of your Saviour who has your tomorrow. Peter knew Jesus was not dead but alive and that He was with him in that prison.
The old song says: “Because He lives I can face tomorrow.”
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BUT … prayer!

Acts 12:5

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”
Peter was trapped.
Herod had seized him.
The soldiers held him.
The prison contained him.
BUT
THE CHURCH WAS PRAYING!
Prayer more than matches whatever is holding you back today. No matter the challenge, the power of prayer is greater.
That’s it. That’s all that matters.
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Our religious enemy

Our religious enemy

Acts 12:4

“After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.”
Peter is back in prison. He was there in chapter 5, put there by the High Priest, but an angel of the Lord opened the prison door.
Perhaps Herod heard how Peter had mysteriously escaped from the prison and so on this occasion he strengthened the grip on him. Four teams of four soldiers guarding Peter. That was how much Herod wanted to hold on to Peter. He was not going to escape this time.
The enemy doesn’t stop attacking. Even if you have had one victory, he will come again and do all he can to trap you and hold you again. But do not fear. The God who got you out of that first attack will get you out of the future ones too!
Herod wouldn’t bring him out for a public trial during the religious festival of Passover. How religious Herod was! Maybe he wasn’t, maybe he was just pretending to be in order to gain favour from the Jews. However, it shows how it is possible to appear to be very religious and at the same time be a destroyer of the Spirits work. A person can keep the religious duties and hold prisoners all on the same day.
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The enemy cannot snatch what hasn’t already been given.

Acts 12:3

“When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.”
God’s chosen people, the Jews, were pleased that the chosen disciple of Jesus was killed. This pleased the political leader, Herod.
Be very concerned when religion and politics come together in alignment. Not all unity and alliances are signs that God is blessing. In fact the mixture of religion and politics within church has led to many closures and if they haven’t closed they have abandoned their mission.
This was the desire of Herod, that the mission of the Christians would be abandoned even before it had begun. So Peter was seized. He was taken away just like James had, his future was bleak, he wasn’t going to come back, this was his moment to follow Jesus to death.
Then we are told it was during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Wow! How incredibly beautiful is this?! Let me explain.
This Feast lasted 7 days, it commemorated Gods people exiting from Egypt. The evening after the Passover, God told the Hebrews to leave quickly, to not even allow their bread to rise, but to grab whatever they could and to run. God had said, “Don’t even let any leaven touch the dough, take the bread even though unleavened and go quickly.” That’s what they did. They escaped to the land God had promised them.
To commemorate this act the Jews would for 7 days sweep their homes of even yeast dust as they remember how the exodus was shocking, quick and impacting.
Now back to our verse …
In the middle of this feast the Jews were celebrating the sudden exit of the chosen people and at the same time, Peter, the chosen disciple of Jesus was suddenly and immediately taken away from the church. Peter was seized for death, he was facing the Promised Land, heaven.
Can you see the connection?
The point is that there are always signs from God to tell us He is always in control.
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Arrest is not to be feared

Arrest is not to be feared

 

Acts 12:1

“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.”

 

This Herod is Herod Agrippa, he was the grandson of Herod the King and the nephew of Herod Tetrarch. Which goes to show that some evils remain within families. Herod the Great wanted to kill Jesus when he was born and Herod Tetrarch was instrumental in the handing of Jesus over for crucifixion.

It makes sense then that Herod Agrippa would follow suit and arrest some believers with the intention of persecution.

If it happened to Jesus it will happen to his followers.

We get alarmed about the rising tide of persecution and all that is happening to Christians.

On my mind is the capture of Jeff Woodke one week ago today in Abalak, Niger. This American YWAM missionary was abducted by Al-Qaeda and no one knows where he is. He has a wife and 2 adult children and we pray for him and them today.

But I could write a list of people who are suffering in similar situations.

I weep with these stories.

Yet let us remember what happened to Jesus.

It will happen to us. We will be arrested. We will be stopped and we will be persecuted. Well, ‘some’ of us.

And if Jesus’ capture and persecution and death wasn’t in vain and in fact brought a greater result because of his death then I truly believe that the capture, persecution and death of his followers will also result in the same powerful result.

Let the enemy arrest all that he wants but it will only serve a greater more powerful purpose. The enemy never wins. He is a defeated enemy.

He may ‘intend’ to persecute but that intention sits in the hand of God’s purpose. Purpose trumps intention every time!

 

 

 

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Giving facts

Giving facts

 

Acts 11: 29

“The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea.”

 

They gave in preparation of the famine predicted by Agabus.

The proof that they believed this was a message from God was that they raised an offering to help alleviate the suffering to come. Giving followed the message from God.

 

The disciples gave. Financial giving is part of following Jesus. It is discipleship.

 

No one gave the same amount. According to their ability didn’t mean that if they had it they gave it. Rather it was probably that they gave the same proportion, an agreed percentage resulting in different amounts depending on what each had.

 

They decided to give. Determined but not forced or coerced, they made a commitment to meet needs.

 

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Come on you prophets

Come on you prophets.

Acts 11:27
“During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.”

We need the prophets. We don’t need more prophesying. But we do need the prophets. We don’t need more “Thus saieth the Lord” but we do need the messages from God.
What is God saying? A question that always needs to be asked.
I’m not so bothered about what man says or what man wants or what man boasts or what man dreams. But I do need the prophets. I need to know the heart and mind of Christ. I need to know what He wants.
So they came.
Because even in a move of the Spirit when people are coming to the Lord and many signs are being done, we still need the message from God.

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12 years

12 years

Acts 11: 26

“and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”

There are so many wonderful truths in this one verse but this morning I am thinking about what isn’t written but is inferred. How many years do you think Saul stayed in Tarsus?
12 years!
But these are not wasted years. They are preparation years.
So what can we learn?
1. Saul was found.
We are found people. Jesus came and found us when we were lost, hidden and alone.

2. Saul was brought.
We are journeymen. We are ready for change. Take my life and let it be ….

3. Saul taught.
We ear disciple makers. That’s what we are whether we are doing it or not.
You can only teach if you have dug. For 12 years he studied and now he came and taught.

4. Saul worked with Barnabas.
We are team players. Solo Christianity should not be happening. God always sends out in twos. Find someone.

5. Saul’s focus was Jesus.
Christians are little Jesus’s. Why wee they called that? Simply because Jesus was everything.. He occupied their thinking, speaking and behaviour.