Acts 11,12

God sent His angel to rescue Peter from being imprisoned. The saints prayed him out of jail. His invitation for Peter to follow him was rather emphatic! Peter was literally jerked out of jail and led to freedom.

God moves quickly on occasion. We pray and pray and pray. Then, in the blink of an eye, He sends His angels to do His bidding.

It’s kind of like waiting at the fair or Disneyland in a long line. When it’s your turn to take the ride, it goes so fast.

Put on your seatbelt.

Acts 9,10

Peter received a visit from God … a sheet filled with ceremonially unclean animals was dropped from heaven. The Lord told him to kill one and eat. This, for a Jew, was strictly forbidden in the law of Moses. God said, “I have cleansed it. What I call clean is CLEAN.” Peter had an instant adjustment to his theology.

With his new view, he was able to minister to Cornelius, a gentile. Peter’s doctrinal enlightenment was a pivotal occurrence in God’s strategy to get the Gospel to all who were not Jews.

Just because a tenet of faith has been handed down to you doesn’t necessarily make it right. Get involved in the Gospel and God will clean up your message.

Begin the journey.

Acts 8

An angel from the Lord told Philip to begin walking the desert road to Gaza from Jerusalem. As he was walking, God’s Spirit instructed him to befriend a specific man in a chariot. As he came upon him, the man was reading Isaiah. Philip was used of God to explain the book and begin preaching Jesus. It resulted in the man becoming a Christian and being baptized.

God gives us instructions by His Spirit. If faith is present in our soul, we act upon these promptings and discover that God wants to use us in a mighty way. How thrilling and rewarding it would be if every Christian would obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Now is a good time to begin.

Acts 6,7

Stephen preached that “God was with (Joseph) and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom,” during his captivity in Egypt at the time of a great, regional famine. This was no doubt a challenge similar to the Coronavirus pandemic we are presently experiencing. 

Through his trust in Yahweh, Joseph was miraculously exalted to a position of authority that enabled him to be of great service to the entire nation of Egypt. There was suffering involved in his process, but the result made him a deliverer for his people.

There may be suffering and trials for a season, but allow God to position you to serve His purposes in the earth.

Acts 5

Jesus had transferred the task of spreading the Gospel to the new Church of believers in Jerusalem. The Apostles were leaders in this act of obedience to Christ’s command. This infuriated the High Priest and his cohorts who had the Apostles cast into the common prison. During the night, an angel of the Lord released them from their restraint. They immediately went back to Solomon’s Porch, an area in the temple where the believers gathered, and resumed preaching and teaching the Gospel.

When we live a life dedicated to God’s purposes, miracles will follow. His grace gives us the extra power to live and obey His commands.

“He that has My commands and keeps them, he’s the one who loves me, and I will love him. He will be loved by My Father, and I will love Him and manifest Myself (with miracle power) to him.

Acts 4

When visiting the Holy Land several years ago, we were told that Jesus was probably more of a stone mason than a carpenter. Nazareth used stone for building rather than wood. Consequently, He was very familiar with stone and stonework. He was referred to as the Stone which was the head of the corner in Peter’s discourse to the rulers and elders of Israel who challenged the authority of the Apostles.

It’s the same today. Leaders and unbelievers are essentially rejecting Christ, the Cornerstone. He is the Rock of offense. He is the element they reject about Christianity. They can take the piety and good works and rules of appropriate conduct etc., but they HATE JESUS.

It’s ALL about Christ … the stone that the builders rejected. Sad, because He’s the ONLY WAY to God and eternal life in heaven.

Acts 2,3

The beautiful story of Peter and John praying for the lame beggar at the gate of the temple tells us how we can be fruitful in God’s Kingdom.

They were asked for money, but they had no money. “Silver and gold have I none. But what I DO HAVE, I give it.” They had the power of God through the name of Jesus. The man was healed and began walking and leaping and praising God.

We can give what we have. The primary element needed is God’s power through the name of Jesus. Beyond that, we can give our talent, our ability, our area of education, our possessions, our energies, our influence. God can use what we have.

John 21; Acts 1

Christ’s followers saw Him ascend into heaven after He told them of the coming power through His Holy Spirit, power to be His witnesses throughout the earth.

To us, His witnesses and disciples, has been given the message, the power, and the commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. We begin with our neighbors, our town, and then the uttermost parts of the earth.

When we have completed our task, He will return again and every eye shall see Him split the Eastern sky.

We still have work to do. Let’s be more focused on getting our job done. He will come when we have been obedient.

John 20

Christ wants to help us believe. That’s why He left us His Word. After His resurrection, He appeared to the disciples on different occasions, helping them believe that He truly was alive. Thomas  doubted. Jesus understandingly approached him and let him put his hands on the nail marks on Christ’s hands. THEN he believed.

The Lord’s patience with Thomas reveals His desire to help us believe and offer evidence that we may acquire greater faith.

Lord, we believe. Help us with our unbelief.

John 18,19

After Jesus and the two thieves had been crucified, their bodies were checked for death. Christ died quickly, not needing to have his legs broken as was the custom. He relinquished His soul to His Heavenly Father.

The death we are challenged to take is death to self. The quicker we relinquish our rights and our self-preserving resistance to God’s will or the preference of others over our self, the quicker God can get on with showing Himself strong on our behalf.

Die quickly. There’s a resurrection coming soon.