The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Acts 12:11,
"Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
As I read the account of King Herod’s intent to put Peter to death I am reminded of a theme that appears in the book of Proverbs. Herod had put John’s brother, the apostle James, to death and “when he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.” Acts 12:3.
The church was “earnestly praying to God for him [Peter]” and so God had other plans. We read in Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.” See also Proverbs 16:1 and 16:9. No one, not even a king can thwart the purposes of God. Even a king’s heart is subject to God, “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” Proverbs 21:1.
God is sovereign over all of his creation. We enjoy a free will only because our Creator has deemed it so. As I think of the choices we make in life, especially the ones I make, I think of the sheer insanity of not choosing that which is consistent with the will of God.
John 1:12 tells us, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. What of those who choose not to “receive him”? Insanity! Our God is supreme in all of creation. He is transcendent and sovereign and no one, nothing, not any plan or intent, no scheme, no religion, not even if all humanity assembled to oppose him, nothing can bring even a dent against what God chooses to do. As God says in Isaiah 55:10-11, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
(314) 814-8486
This electronic transmission and any documents accompanying this electronic transmission contain confidential information belonging to the sender. This information may contain confidential health information that is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. The authorized recipient of this transmission is prohibited from disclosing this information to any other party unless required to do so by law or regulation and is required to delete or destroy the information after its stated need has been fulfilled. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or takinf of any action in reliance on or regarding the contents of this electronicallytransmitted information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the sender and delete this message immediately
No comments:
Post a Comment