PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Acts 12:19b–25 (NIV)
. . . he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.
On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.
When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
CONSIDER THIS
There’s a sense we need to get our Herods straight and there’s a sense we don’t. Herod. The name smacks with evil and darkness. Remember “Herod”? He was the one who at the news of the birth of Jesus had all children two years old and younger slaughtered. He didn’t live long after that and his death was reported to Joseph by an angel alerting him it was fine to return to Nazareth. He was known as “Herod the Great.” The Herod spoken of today is not that Herod but another one: Herod Agrippa. Still a different Herod; Herod Antipas was responsible for the decapitation of John the Baptist. Later in Acts, we will meet Herod Agrippa II. Anyhow, Herod Agrippa I had James executed by sword, and Peter was on deck. This guy was wicked. He saw himself as a god, and so did many of those he ruled. History is littered with the bones of such leaders.
Look at the reversal of fortune here. The one who considered himself a god, gladly receiving the people’s worship, is struck dead. Remember Peter back in the house of Cornelius, when Cornelius bowed before him? Yes, the one who refused to be worshiped kept right on going. Herod possessed all the power the world could offer yet was powerless against Peter, who possessed no power. Here’s where we make a subtle yet egregious error. We are wont to say that Peter possessed the power of God. The truth? The power of God possessed Peter.
Note how the writer here interprets the event. “. . . because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down.“
We do not possess the power of God. The power of God possesses us.
Writing later, drawing from the prayer book of the early church, Peter penned these words from Psalm 34.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (1 Peter 3:12)
I have to wonder if Peter was remembering Herod as he wrote. It puzzles me though, why didn’t he finish the verse? It ends by saying, “to blot out their name from the earth.”
Whatever happened to the line of Herod? Exactly. How about the line of Peter? Still going strong, twenty-one centuries later.
And lest we forget the opening line of today’s text re: Herod: “. . . he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.”
As noted, from Herod to Hitler, history is littered with the bones of wicked men and women. Sadly, their bones are mingled with the millions who suffered their reigns of terror. It never ceases to amaze me how smart and even God-fearing people will rise up in their support. This continues from today’s text to the present day. Only the names have changed. Barry Sanders was once asked why he got into public service. He answered to the effect, “A man was elected president and fifty million people died. Elections matter.” Though public service matters and public servants matter greatly, our solutions will not be found in one party or the other or in one candidate or the other. They will be found as the people of God find their way back to the house of God—the one which shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations.
THE PRAYER OF TRANSFORMATION
Lord Jesus, I am your witness.
I receive your righteousness and release my sinfulness.
I receive your wholeness and release my brokenness.
I receive your fullness and release my emptiness.
I receive your peace and release my anxiety.
I receive your joy and release my despair.
I receive your healing and release my sickness.
I receive your love and release my selfishness.
Come, Holy Spirit, transform my heart, mind, soul, and strength so that my consecration becomes your demonstration; that our lives become your sanctuary. For the glory of God our Father, amen.
THE QUESTION
What observations, learnings, questions, and gleanings do you have from this most eventful twelfth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles? What began with a brutal execution and an unjust imprisonment ended with a freed apostle and a dead king.
THE HYMN
Today we will sing “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” It is hymn 472 in our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.
For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
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3 Responses
Today’s post brings to mind a much often quoted Proverb, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Whether a president, king, pastor, lay leader, or congregation, the same principle applies. As to the the idea that God chooses to take sides in the affairs of the world; it would be wise to remember the words spoken to Joshua before the conquest of Jericho. When Joshua approached a “man” with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither he replied, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” He later told Joshua to, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” I once read where someone once wrote, “ Jesus did not come to take sides, He came to take over.”
We do not possess the power of God. The power of God possesses us.
True statement.
Yet, we want to determine when, where, and how God uses His power. We want Him to take us by the hand, but we want to lead and be in command.
We tend to be in His way instead of following The Way.
Dang, that sinful nature.
Been there many times, but more often now, the pendulum swings to the Lord’s side.
Growing into spiritual maturity.
Pride versus humility.
This could be why Jesus separates the goats from the sheep (Matthew 25:31-46): the difference between using the power of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to use us.
I so want to be a sheep.
Staying 💪’n Christ
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Too many Christians
Are looking for
A house of God,
A physical place
When what we need
Is to let Jesus take control
Of our inner space
And completely replace
Our thoughts, feelings, and desires
With His.
Have your way in me, Lord!