March 5 | Acts 12:7-9
“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood near, and a light shone in the room, and striking Peter’s side, He woke Him, saying, “Arise quickly,” and chains fell off of His hands. And the angel said to Him, “Dress yourself and tie your sandals,” and so He did, and He said to Him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And going out, He was following Him, and He did not know that it was real, what was happening through the angel, but He was thinking He was seeing a vision.” (Acts 12:7–9)
Christians are suffering unspeakable persecution around the world. When I was in seminary, a pastor from Iraq visited us. He told of the persecution, the torture, the imprisonment, separation from His family, and how Christians in other cells ministered to one another.
They found scraps of paper, toiletry, and wrote scriptures they had memorized on them. They passed them in the cracks and holes to encourage each other to stand strong for Christ. If the guards caught them, they put these filthy fragments in their mouths.
You could hear a pin drop in our chapel. The writer of Hebrews wrote that we have not resisted to the point of shedding blood for the gospel. In America, few of us have. A political leader imprisoned Peter just because he got rave reviews for killing James. Even Peter was dumbfounded that the angel helped Him walk free.
Action Step: What will you believe God to do in your life? Would you be surprised if He did it? Give God the glory for every marvelous thing He does.
Jesus, You used Your power to set Peter free from prison. I ask you to use Your power to show Yourself great among the nations that persecute Your Church. Leave them as speechless as the believers You set free.
