June 10
(Acts
12:18-23 NIV) ““In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers
as to what had become of Peter. {19} After Herod had a thorough search made for
him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be
executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. {20}
He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined
together and sought an audience with him. Having secured 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. {21} On the
appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a
public address to the people. {22} They shouted, "This is the voice of a
god, not of a man." {23} 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.””
(Acts 14:8-18
NIV) ““In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth
and had never walked. {9} He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked
directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed {10} and called out,
"Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to
walk. {11} When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian
language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" {12}
Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief
speaker. {13} The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city,
brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to
offer sacrifices to them. {14} But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of
this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: {15}
"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are
bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the
living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. {16} In
the past, he let all nations go their own way. {17} Yet he has not left himself
without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and
crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your
hearts with joy." {18} Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping
the crowd from sacrificing to them.””
The main difference
between the disciples and Herod was who they sought to glorify with their
lives. The disciples sought to glorify God. Herod sought to glorify himself.
But God’s patience with Herod finally ran out. When the people praised Herod as
a god, instead of correcting them, he accepted it and soaked it up. For his
sin, he was struck down and “eaten by worms”. Herod thought of himself as a
god, and it cost him his life. It still costs us our lives when we think of
ourselves as gods. We mock God when we serve ourselves rather than the Lord --
when we are absorbed with self-glorification rather than glorifying Christ. We
walk with Herod when we advance ourselves rather than advancing the gospel. We
worship ourselves when we rationalize our sin and excuse behavior that is
offensive to the God of Heaven. This is the basic flaw of humanity. Never fail
to give glory to God. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day
