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Acts 11-12 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Acts 11:1-12:25.

“And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind.’ But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, ‘It is his angel!’ But peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed” (Acts 12:13-16).

I don’t think, as some do, that these people lacked faith in God’s ability to grant their requests for Peter’s freedom. Rather, I believe they simply placed God in a box. If He would release Peter, it would be by something like getting Herod to change his mind and deciding to set him free. It simply didn’t occur to them that God would defy natural order and let Peter walk through locked gates and walls to escape under the very nose of Herod.

The point then is not to pray with faith, though that is necessary. The point is to never assume God will say, “Yes,” the way we expect. Don’t put God in a box. Take your requests to Him and let Him answer the way He wants. He will amaze you.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can add your input by clicking here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Today’s reading is Romans 11:1-12:21.

“Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you” (Romans 11:18).

Wow! That hit me where it hurts.

I’ve caught myself recently trying to barter with God. “God please do such and such so I will be better able to do such and such for You.” Now, I certainly think this is a valid approach to prayer when done from the proper motivation. Clearly, the psalmists prayed for God’s deliverance from death that they might continue to praise God among the living.

However, it is too easy for me to get into barter mode while trying to get the semantics to sound like the prayer is about God instead of me. I need to remember that God is the one supporting me and not vice versa. I need Him. He doesn’t need whatever it is I’m trying to offer Him. There is no room for manipulative ploys in praying.

Today, I’m going to check my motives in my praying. Am I asking because I want to better glorify God or because I want what I want and I’m hoping to make it sound like it’s about Him? That’s the question.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Luke 21:1-22:71.

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

For me, this should be the model prayer. I know I need to pray for my daily bread and for forgiveness, but at the heart of everything I do, I need this prayer. “Not my will but Yours be done.” I need a daily reminder that today is about God and not about me. A friend once shared a prayer he prays with me, “Lord, let me know your will for today and grant me the strength to do it.”

That’s really all I need for today. I need simply to do the next right thing. What does God want me to do next and may I surrender to God’s strength and power to accomplish it.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Luke 1:1-2:52.

“But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John’” (Luke 1:13).

How long has it been since Zechariah actually offered that prayer? Clearly, by his response, he didn’t think having children was possible at his age. He thought God had simply said, “No” and let it go at that. But now, in God’s good time, in the time that could most glorify God, He granted Zechariah’s request.

I’m so happy to read this today. I may think God is saying, “No,” when really He is simply saying, “In My time, not yours.” I have to learn to trust God’s judgment because He can see all ends and what will most glorify Him. Of course, what that means is today, I have to be more concerned about what will glorify Him in the long run than what I want in the moment.

I just hope I don’t have to be struck mute for 9 months to learn to trust God and His timing.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Philippians 3:1-4:23.

I’m glad to read Philippians 3:7-11 today. It reminds me of what is most important for me today. It is not most important that I make money today or that I sell any books today. It is not most important that I rub elbows with some important person today. It is not most important that I pass on some great knowledge and education to my children today. It is not most important that I solve some great problem facing our world. What is most important is that I get to know Jesus just a little bit better today. If that means I have to give up something else, then so be it. 

Only by knowing Jesus will I attain the resurrection and have my lowly body transformed to be like his glorious body. 

I think I’ll go spend a little bit more time reading His word and praying. Perhaps I should spend some time with His other brethren. I will probably also take some time to do some meditating on what I learn of Him through the word. All of these things can help me know Him better and draw me closer to Him. That is what is most important today. Maybe God will use me to do some other things today as well, but most importantly, I need to know Jesus.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Acts 1:1-2:47.

I wonder what the disciples must have been feeling between the time Jesus departed and the Spirit came. I imagine there was expectation, mingled with anxiety. There was the daily feeling of joy that today might be the day and the daily feeling of disappointment when it wasn’t. I imagine there was fear that they might be found out by the authorities who killed Jesus before the Spirit came. There was the excitement that they were about to be part of something new.  There was confusion because nothing had gone the way they expected and they still weren’t sure what was coming. There was the fear that they might not be up to the challenge.

How did they handle all of this? Acts 1:14 shows how. “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer…”

Two things are found in this passage.

1) With one accord: That is they didn’t try to face all this alone. They didn’t even make any falsely noble spiritual claims that they could face it alone with God. They seemed to understand that relying on God meant relying on each other. They were spending their time with each other.

2) Devoted to prayer: While spending time with each other, they were spending time with God. They walked in His presence. This is not merely offering up prayers prior to meals and as any of their “services” or “meetings” got started. This was a repeated, continual practice of praying. I’m sure it doesn’t mean they were in a prayer meeting 24 hours per day. But it does mean they took what they were feeling, whatever it was at the moment, to God. It does mean they took what they were thinking to God. It does mean they took their fears, their anxieties, their confusions, their joys, their expectations to God. They glorified Him. They petitioned Him. They confessed to Him. They were devoted to praying.

I need to do the same today. We live in crazy times. Not to mention, life can simply be hectic and personally crazy. Confusion, fear, expectation, joy, anxiety, stress, peace: emotions can run like roller coasters. If we stay with ourselves trying to handle these things, we’ll never make it. We need to spend time with each other and be devoted to prayer. God will be with us and carry us through.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Acts 11:1-12:25.

I’ve heard many people repudiate the Christians who were praying at Mary the mother of John Mark’s house for not having faith in God to answer their prayers. When they heard Rhoda’s report that Peter stood at the gate, they didn’t believe her. They said it must be his angel instead. I simply want to share two ideas here that are a little different from the norm. You can let me know what you think.

1). I try to give these people who were praying into the middle of the night a little more credit. I’ve usually found that people who don’t have faith in God to grant their prayers, don’t pray very much. I’m not so sure that they were praying but not expecting God to do anything. Rather, I think they were praying but weren’t expecting God to work in this way. They were expecting God to work in some way that Herod changed his mind and just let Peter go. They weren’t expecting God to send an angel to miraculously release Peter in the middle of the night. Therefore they were surprised.

What I learn from this is not to put God in a box. God can work however God wants. Usually, when I’m praying for something, I not only have the end result in mind but a method as well. I need to let God know my desires and leave the methods up to Him. He will not always do what I expect.

2). This is just kind of a side note. But in the past, when I’ve thought about the statement “It is his angel” in Acts 12:15, I’ve thought the people meant Peter must be dead and now is coming as an angel. Of course, there is no indication that dead saints become angels. So this would be their misunderstanding. However, what about this possibility. Since a spiritual being like an angel wouldn’t be kept outside by a locked gate, perhaps the Christians meant something entirely different. 

Remember that the word translated “angel” means messenger. Is it possible that what these folks meant was not that Peter was dead and coming to them as a spiritual being, but rather that he had sent a messenger to them. Tell me what you think about this possibility.

***Question: What are some things God has done that were unexpected to you?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is Luke 21:1-22:71. 

We read Jesus’ most famous prayer in Luke 22:42. “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.”

We know from Matthew’s account that Jesus prayed this prayer for about an hour and then did so again two more times. The writers have whittled down the prayer to its main thrust and given it to us in encapsulated form, however, this brief description of the pray packs a punch.

In fact, it provides the key to having God say, “Yes” to all our prayers.

Sadly, some who have been attracted to this post by the title, aren’t going to like what they read. Too many people view prayer as the means to bend God to our will. They think prayer is treating God like a vending machine. Drop in a couple prayers and out pops our order. It is just not like that.

Prayer is actually about bending us to God’s will. If we want God to answer, “Yes,” to our prayers, we need to align our will with His. As we become more like Him, our wants and wishes will be more in line with His and He will grant our requests. Of course, there are those issues where we don’t know God’s specific will. That is where Jesus’ prayer is such a blessing. We can lay out our desires before God, but show our submission by pointing out that more than our will, we want God’s will. We know we are finite and do not see all the sides of every issue. We know God is wiser and will do what is right if we will only surrender to Him. 

We can pray as Jesus does, “Here is what I want, Father. But more than what I want, I want whatever it is that You want.” God will always say, “Yes,” to that and at that point, prayer will truly have worked its power in our lives–not because we got what we prayed for, but because we allowed prayer to make us more like God.

***Question: What do you do to help keep your prayer life on track?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC