Eaten By Worms

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

Doubting God’s Miracles

June 9

(Acts 12:11-16 NIV) “Then Peter came to himself and said, "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. {12}  When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. {13} Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. {14} When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" {15} "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." {16} But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.”

(Matthew 14:25-31 NIV) ““During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. {26} When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. {27} But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." {28} "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." {29} "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. {30} But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" {31} Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?””

The church was praying for Peter’s deliverance, but when God answered their prayers, they doubted and were astonished that he showed up at their door. They were surprised by God’s miracle. We should never doubt God’s ability to do miracles. Our God can provide astonishing answers to prayer. However, we must be careful how we define the word “miracle”. Things don’t have to go our way for miracles to occur. They can happen, even when we don’t get what we want. We must abandon our self-centered approach to the miraculous. Miracles often go far beyond the limited scope of our personal benefit. An examination of Scripture will show that God’s miracles do not always include our personal well-being, or the well-being of those we love. Never doubt the ability of God to do miracles! Just be sure you don’t define “miracle” so narrowly that God cannot succeed. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

God’s Intervention

June 8

(Acts 12:6-11 NIV) “The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. {7} Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. {8} Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. {9} Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. {10} They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. {11} Then Peter came to himself and said, "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."

(Job 1:18-22 NIV) ““While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, {19} when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" {20} At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship {21} and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." {22} In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.””

God is sovereign, and sometimes chooses to interject Himself into human history. James was killed by Herod, but Peter was spared by an angelic visitation. We may question God’s fairness and sit in judgment of Him, but we do not view history from eternity. Why do we make deliverance from physical death the measuring stick of God’s power and love? Is personal survival really the only definition of God’s mercy? Is life here on earth really better than eternity in heaven? When we say at funerals, “They’re in a better place”… do we not really mean it? Perhaps James, not Peter, received the greater miracle here. When God intervenes and we survive, we should praise Him -- and when God doesn’t appear to come through, we should praise Him. God is sovereign, and we who believe are blessed, whether the angel comes to save us, or to take us home. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Earnest Prayer

June 7

(Acts12:5 NIV) “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”

(Psalm 107:28-30 NIV) "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. {29} He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. {30} They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven."

(James 5:16 NIV) "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

If one takes enough Scripture out of context, they can come up with a guaranteed formula for achieving answered prayer. Prayer is often taught as if it were a matter of pushing the right buttons; after which God is obligated to grant our requests. This is a distorted picture of prayer. There is no guaranteed formula, but God does point to earnestness as a factor in powerful prayer. The church was praying earnestly for Peter, and God sent an angel to set him free. Does that mean that the church was less earnest in their prayers for James? No! God answers prayer in His way, in His time, and for His glory. We pray because God tells us to pray, and we want to be obedient. We pray because it makes a difference. There are too many great personal testimonies that point to the power of prayer for us to ignore. Never underestimate the power of earnest prayer. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day