Text: Acts 12:18-25
Prayer Pointers:
To celebrate that you have a relationship with the Great King
That Jesus would be enthroned in every heart
WE SEE THE AWFUL end of Herod Agrippa. Approached by some of his subjects to be lenient, he accepts their flattery, and pretends he in the place of God, who then strikes him down. Luke includes this tale of Herod as a counterpunch to the miraculous release of Peter from prison, who trusts his Lord and moves, acts when he is asked, and gives God the glory among his friends when they see how their prayers have been answered.
We must remember that we have not simply adopted some rules for life when we become Christians; we have become friends of the Ruler when we are adopted by baptism! The first disciples did not gather around Jesus simply because the teaching was compelling. Jesus was compelling! It was not that he spoke Beatitudes, but that they found blessedness in his presence, in his friendship. It was not that he told challenging parables that revealed something about God; it was that he himself was the Revealer of God. Distraught over his death, they were overjoyed when Jesus was restored to them after the Resurrection; they realized that Jesus was supremely king when he was suffering on the Cross.
The stories of Acts show one clear thing: the first disciples, now messengers, now apostles, go to people proclaiming a Person, Someone worthy of devotion, sacrifice, obedience, love, Someone who was trustworthy, who would hear them when they approached.
May your day be grace-filled ~ Pr. Dave Brooks