Sacrifices

 

    It is one thing to know that you will have to make sacrifices when you become a Christian.  It is quite another to face them.  Will you give up what matters in life for God willingly or with regret?

    King Herod started to arrest people who belonged to "The Way".  His focus was on the Apostles.  It had progressed from the Jewish Church to the government hunting Christians down.  The intention with the government was to persecute and scare the rest.  

    James was the first apostle to be martyred.  He died by the sword.  At least it was quick, but he always knew and understood what was at stake after Jesus' resurrection.  He knew that he was going to his true home and that his job on Earth was done.  He was able to have a short, but full life with no regrets.

    After James was killed, Peter was seized.  He was placed in prison until Passover was over and they held his trial.  A trial where they would find him guilty.  They didn't want to take any chances of him escaping, so they had him heavily guarded.  He was even chained to two guards.  

    This prison is not as nice as ours today.  It was dungeon with no or very little light.  The prisoners sat in their own (and other people's) waste.  They were not fed regularly.  It is not a place anyone would want to go, even to visit.

    While Peter was in prison, the church prayed.  They prayed for a miracle.  They had already lost James, they didn't want to lose Peter too.  

    The night of Peter's trial, an angel appeared.  (Seems like it had become a thing to hold Christian trials in the dead of night.)  He told Peter to get up, get dressed, and to follow him.  Peter was in like a dream state.  He did as the angel told him.  He didn't even realize that the chains had fallen off and that his guards slept through it all.  It was not until he was outside and the angel left him that he realized that he was really free.

    He went to the home of Mary where the church was gathered.  Mary's servant, Rhonda, came to the door when he knocked.  She saw that it was Peter and was overwhelmed with excitement.  She left him outside to rush to tell the others that Peter was there.  Peter was still knocking until someone let him in.  He told his story with the message to let the other Apostles know and then he left.  

    The story spread of Peter's escape while Peter searched to find a safer place.  He did not want to lead the soldiers to be able to harm anyone else.  The guards that were responsible for guarding Peter were executed.  

    Through all of this Herod still refused to acknowledge God.  He took it a step further and basically claimed to be God.  An angel struck him dead in public to be eaten by worms.  About this time Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem from their first (relief) mission trip.  They joined Mark.

    No matter how many people in the world try to stop God's Word, it continues to spread.  The more the church is persecuted the stronger the message spreads.  No one can stop God.  Those that follow Jesus may sacrifice a lot, but they experience a lot of miraculous things too.

Acts 12