For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Acts 12
Characterize the prayers and faith of (a) Peter, and (b) the church. What can you learn from them? I notice two things about the prayers of the church for Peter while he was in prison. First, “the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” (Acts 12:5b). What does it mean to pray earnestly? If I am being completely honest, I have to say I have a problem with this. Life is busy and there is so much need in this fallen world. Prayers often end up looking more like a casual run-through of a long, monotonous list or flippant thoughts strewn throughout the day than they do persistent, earnest pleas to God for the concerns of my heart. Earnest prayer takes time, effort, and personal engagement. I think of the movie, “War Room”. Prayer is a Spiritual battle. We need to get serious and treat it as such.
The second thing I notice is that the people were praying together. I don’t know if they gathered specifically to pray for Peter or had gathered for other reasons and made prayer a part of whatever they were doing. But they were together and they were praying. I think that’s a good thing. While it is important, I believe, to spend your time alone with God, dressed for battle and wielding the sword of His word against the powers of darkness, there is something about gathering together with a group of like-minded believers and raising your voices as one (not all at the same time, of course). There is power in numbers, and I think that unity among believers pleases God.
Ex. 21-22
What do these laws tell you about God’s values? His character? What questions do they raise? I am still at a loss with most of these laws. I believe, though, that they were somehow guidelines for the people as to how to love God and love others. And I believe that they were intended to set God’s people apart by having them do things differently than the general cultural practices of the day. I can’t help but think that many of them that seem harsh or cruel or just downright strange would look a lot different to me through the proper cultural lens.
I did have an interesting thought this morning, though, reading through the rules for Hebrew servants. A male servant was allowed to go free after six years of service, but could not take any wife or her children if she was given to him by his master. However, “if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free’” (Ex. 21:5), he was given the option to become the master’s servant for life. I thought this was a great example of a point I have mentioned before – that freedom is a relational concept. Gaining “freedom” from any given thing comes at a cost. You have to give something up or commit yourself to something else in order to be free form that thing. Conversely, there can be much to gain – even freedom from other things – by enslaving yourself to that something.
So this is what that thought translates to for me. God is my master. He has given me much – everything, really. I have the option to be free of my service to God. I must realize, though, that being free from God will cost me all the good He has given me, including my very life. The consequences of that certainly won’t manifest immediately, making the option seem more appealing than it really is. But if I recognize that truth for what it really is, would it not be far better for me to make myself a slave to God, my good master, for life?