Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Acts 12:8-11 Get up and go Peter! Is this real or memorex?

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.
Well, if you recall, Peter was chained, in a prison cell, sleeping between 2 guards when a bright light appeared which just happened to be an Angel from God.
   The Angel woke Peter, smote his side, the chains fell off and then.....and then....
And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
The instructions given to Peter by the Angel was to get his stuff and prepare to leave.  Peter was probably a little groggy and not certain if this was a vision or real.   
And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.  
   So, Peter is now up, standing in the depths of the prison, and an Angel is about to lead him out.  But how?  The have to go by 2 guarded checkpoints, out of the prison through an iron gate.  This jail break is impossible!!  Is it?  It is for man, but not for God.  Peter still is not certain what is going on.
  10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
  Notice when they came to the iron gate what did it do?  The iron gate automatically opened to let them pass.  Okay, recap, the Angel wakes Peter, they leave the prison undetected through guarded checkpoints, come to an iron gate that opens by itself.  Amazing to anyone, EXCEPT  GOD!  Then they went out into the street and when Peter realized what was happening the Angel had left him, he was able to look at his situation and evaluate where he was and what had just happened.
  We talk about doubting Thomas who was to see the nail pierced hands and the open side of Jesus; well, we have here Peter who denied Christ 3 times before the rooster crowed.  His belief comes even stronger now.
  11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
  Peter knows for certain now that the LORD orchestrated his escape via an Angel and he is no longer in the hand of Herod.  Also, this would be a disappointment to the people of the Jews that he was gone.
  How did this all come about?  Yes, by God; but remember, the church of Jerusalem was in continual prayer for Peter.  Don't you think God heard these prayers?  The power of prayer is enormous in God's eyes.  Yes, God knows what will happen, HE knows our hearts, but we need to know our true heart and give it all to God as the Jerusalem church did.  Will you?  Take a risk, step out, go one more step for GOD.  It is worth it!  
  What comes next is kind of comical.  You will see tomorrow and Friday.  It is definitely amusing.  Thank you for reading. Love you all.
In Christ's Love and Grace
Johnny

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