Acts 5:21b-26 - What is God going to do?

Scripture: Acts 5:21b-26

Summary: (Previously, the high priest had arrested the apostles and put them in prison but an angel set them free and they went directly to the temple to teach) That morning the high priest sent to have the apostles brought to him from the prison but they weren't there. The doors were locked, the guards were there, but the prisoners were gone. Someone arrived saying that they were at the temple teaching so the police went and brought the apostles to the high priest.

Thoughts: The high priest and his council are said to be "perplexed, wondering what might be going on." They have no idea that God might be behind the oddness of the situation. Then someone arrives, telling them "Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!" The temple is probably the last place that they expected the apostles to be when they didn't find them in prison. The priests most likely assumed that they were in hiding since they had escaped from prison. But instead, the disciples are in the temple teaching people about Jesus Christ. The priests council had left out a crucial factor when considering what would happen to the followers of Jesus. What was God going to do? I often find myself surprised when God has acted in the world around me. I too easily discount God's influence in our world when I try to figure out what is going to happen next. And it is in those times that God turns things around, bringing light to the darkness, bringing hope to the hopeless. So I encourage you to watch today to see what God is going to do next!

Prayer: God, even though we often forget the fact, you are the most important actor in our world. Help us to see you working in the midst of our lives in this world you have given us for a home. Amen.

Acts 5:17-21 - Are you sharing the whole message?

Scripture: Acts 5:17-21

Summary: The disciples had been preaching and healing and it was making the people in charge jealous. They arrested the apostles and put them in prison. But that night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and told them to preach in the temple. So they went at daybreak to teach in the temple.

Thoughts:  The angels instructions to the disciples were: "Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life." Even though they had been thrown into prison for preaching already, they went to the temple and began preaching again. And the angel was very clear that they were to teach the whole message. What does this mean? Well, I think that they were being called to tell the entire story of Jesus Christ, his life, his works, his words, his death, and his resurrection. Too often when we tell people what it means to be a Christian, we don't deliver the whole message. We don't tell them how hard it can be to follow Christ. We don't tell them that they might end up in jail, or worse. But even this is not the whole message. Because the most important part is that God is with us. We are not alone. We are not being called to do God's work on our own. We not only have other Christians to help us but we have the Holy Spirit with us. Are we telling people the whole message about this life?

Prayer: Speak through me as I attempt, with my insufficient words, to share with others the message about life with Jesus Christ. Help me to share the whole message of his witness. Amen.