Chapter 12
About
that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. 2
He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. 3
When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish leaders, he arrested Peter
during the Passover celebration and imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four
squads of four soldiers each. Herod’s intention was to bring Peter out for
public trial after the Passover. 5 But while Peter was in prison,
the church prayed very earnestly for him. Acts
12:1-5
Principle:
Prayer is an incredible weapon in
spiritual warfare.
Peter finally
realized what had happened. “It’s really true!” he said to himself. “The Lord
has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jews were hoping
to do to me!”
After a little
thought, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were
gathered for prayer. He knocked at the
door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she
recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the
door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”
“You’re out of your
mind,” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”
Meanwhile, Peter
continued knocking. When they finally went out and opened the door, they were
amazed. Acts
12:11-16
Angels must have been so common then, that they didn’t bother to go out to the gate!
Chapter 12 finishes with this note:
24 But God’s Good News was spreading rapidly, and there were
many new believers.
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission in
Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch, taking John Mark with them. Acts
12:24-25
Notice how Barnabas and Saul pick
out a young man to disciple and be part of their ministry team.
Principle:
God will always bring you less
experienced believers to equip and encourage.
Always be on the lookout for that next disciple! Who is it that God has brought across your path to pour into?
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