Is anyone else enjoying the refreshing simplicity this week of being able to just read one long passage without any flipping from book to book??! I certainly am!
In this passage today, we see more of the apostles' church-planting and the beginning of Paul's missionary work. These verses are full of miraculous events and the exciting spread of the Gospel over the then-known world. Of particular interest to me this time were the stories of Peter's angel-assisted escape from the Roman jail and the story of Paul and Barnabas in Lystra.
I've always loved the story of Peter's "release" from jail. I love that God chose to work with such physical visibility sometimes! I get a kick out of how it says the angel STRUCK Peter's side to wake him up! The sudden blinding light of the angel's presence didn't do it, and it doesn't say the angel lightly tapped his shoulder or whispered in his ear ~ no, this is a harsh awakening! The kind you'd probably be a little upset about if you DIDN'T see an angel beside you when you woke!! Peter was FAST ASLEEP.
I just can't imagine being that soundly asleep in a Roman jail. That he could sleep that deeply in a place where he was quite likely going to suffer torture and death just amazes me! That he wasn't lying awake, wondering how they were going to torture him and how long it would take for him to die, is something I just can't fathom. AND, he could easily have been worrying that he might deny Christ under pressure yet again and recant if the pain got to be too much, but no.... he's sound asleep. So soundly, in fact, the angel has to hit him pretty hard to wake him up! To me this is a beautiful picture of Peter's security in Christ, resting safely in the promise of eternal life through his Savior, regardless of his geographical location and physical surroundings or what the future would hold.
The second thing that really stood out for me in this passage this time 'round is Paul and Barnabas' experience in Lystra. The crowd is convinced they are gods and Paul and Barnabas "had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them." The power they had over these people is incredible! And yet, just a few verses later, the crowd is just as easily swayed by some out-of-town Jews and suddenly, Paul is the sacrifice. The part that really blows me away though, is that after being stoned and left for dead, Paul just gets up and walks back to the city. Like it was no big deal. And then the next day, he sets out for a different city! This is a guy who everyone thought was dead!! Another evidence of God's miraculous hand.
The book of Acts is full of amazing stories and I'm excited to read through them all again! Maybe if we read through Acts more often, we'd be more excited about sharing the Gospel and not quite as afraid of looking like a weirdo or being mocked for our faith.
Let's hope so!
Tomorrow's passages: Acts 14:21-28, Galatians 1:1-3:23
2 comments:
I'm definitely liking being able to read in one book at a time!
Acts is a very exciting book.
I love the story of the angel rescuing Peter too.
I think it's funny that the girl that goes to answer the door is so shocked she leaves Peter standing outside!
I also think it's neat that God answered their prayers even though they obviously didn't really think He would - they were astonished to see Peter set free! Weak faith in action is still faith and God will honour it!
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