Robin MacAoidh
Member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2012
- Messages
- 78
Not quite sure where this fits, but it was just a thought...
CHAINS
A comment on Acts 12
Sometimes God’s Word reaches out and grabs you and wakes you up to realize that you are trapped in a world of restrictions. Before you think that I lament my circumstances, I will state the obvious; we personally are our own biggest restriction!
Recently I was reading through Acts as I ran across The Apostle Peter in prison. He was a very scary situation; Herod had just executed James and Peter was apprehended for the same purpose but tossed into prison, enchained awaiting the passing of Easter. Naturally, worry would be our normal course of action, but not Peter, we find him sleeping!
I will confess, I have lost sleep over conditions that don’t even come near the same difficult arena as those which the early church faced, let alone my eminent death.
How could Peter be sleeping? What reason of peace or confidence of outcome could possibly allow a man to relax on a night like that? Peter could have dwelt on his own shortcomings; we know there were a lot recorded in the gospels. He might have thought like so many of us that he was about to get what he deserved, after all he had even denied knowing the Lord!
But wait, haven’t we all like sheep, gone astray? Of course we have, and the Lord laid on Jesus the penalty of sin for all of us! Now we know that God’s grace through faith is our only redemption but it is difficult for us to see it that way when all we see is ourselves. Peter had seen outside of himself when he reached the end of his own ability and self-confidence. The result of his interaction with the resurrected Son of God was one of complete confidence in God.
Now God’s ability is in a totally different arena than that of our own. When we rely on Him the sailing is smooth, or at the least the outcome is God’s desire and why would we want anything else?
Bang! The Angel slapped him on his side. Clunk! The chains fell off his arms. Peter, still half asleep, is led away from the prison a free man! Then I realized that God would do the same for me! My prison is self-doubt, my chains are in my mind and the gates are fading fast as faith realizes that God is working for His children, not against them.
Wake up! Come out of your prison cells, let Jesus Christ break your chains and the God of peace will be your guide.
Just a thought…
Robin :groupwave::groupwave::groupwave::groupwave:
CHAINS
A comment on Acts 12
Sometimes God’s Word reaches out and grabs you and wakes you up to realize that you are trapped in a world of restrictions. Before you think that I lament my circumstances, I will state the obvious; we personally are our own biggest restriction!
Recently I was reading through Acts as I ran across The Apostle Peter in prison. He was a very scary situation; Herod had just executed James and Peter was apprehended for the same purpose but tossed into prison, enchained awaiting the passing of Easter. Naturally, worry would be our normal course of action, but not Peter, we find him sleeping!
I will confess, I have lost sleep over conditions that don’t even come near the same difficult arena as those which the early church faced, let alone my eminent death.
How could Peter be sleeping? What reason of peace or confidence of outcome could possibly allow a man to relax on a night like that? Peter could have dwelt on his own shortcomings; we know there were a lot recorded in the gospels. He might have thought like so many of us that he was about to get what he deserved, after all he had even denied knowing the Lord!
But wait, haven’t we all like sheep, gone astray? Of course we have, and the Lord laid on Jesus the penalty of sin for all of us! Now we know that God’s grace through faith is our only redemption but it is difficult for us to see it that way when all we see is ourselves. Peter had seen outside of himself when he reached the end of his own ability and self-confidence. The result of his interaction with the resurrected Son of God was one of complete confidence in God.
Now God’s ability is in a totally different arena than that of our own. When we rely on Him the sailing is smooth, or at the least the outcome is God’s desire and why would we want anything else?
Bang! The Angel slapped him on his side. Clunk! The chains fell off his arms. Peter, still half asleep, is led away from the prison a free man! Then I realized that God would do the same for me! My prison is self-doubt, my chains are in my mind and the gates are fading fast as faith realizes that God is working for His children, not against them.
Wake up! Come out of your prison cells, let Jesus Christ break your chains and the God of peace will be your guide.
Just a thought…
Robin :groupwave::groupwave::groupwave::groupwave:
