Belief

There is power in the Name of Jesus

Acts 12:1-11

New Living Translation (NLT)

James Is Killed and Peter Is Imprisoned

 King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.) Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison

The night before Peter was to be placed on trial; he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

So Peter left the cell, after the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

 Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”

Are you afraid to talk about racism and discrimination?

Racism and discrimination are undoubtedly significant problems in America; yet still, many people including Christians pretend these evils of society do not exist. No one wants to tackle these problems in any meaningful way.

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Even some of the most celebrated, Religious leaders who assumed duties as moral compasses, and who, of course never minced words when it comes to talk about abortion, gay rights, contraception and other hot button political and social issues are silent on racism and discrimination.

Why? It is hard to say. However, I do not think it is unfair to assume these people are either afraid or are part of the problem.

Still, racism and discrimination are age-old problems. Jesus was a victim of discrimination too. The only reason His people rejected Him was because He was different.

Unlike today’s Religious, Jesus was never silent on the problems of race and discrimination. When He said, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” He was speaking directly to the racial problem that existed between the Jewish people and their Samaritan neighbors; and when a pesky lawyer said, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded with the parable of the good Samaritan.

Behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25, ESV)
Jesus asked him to repeat what the law says, and the man responded: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength and all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27, ESV)

Pressing further, the lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
In parable form, Jesus told of a man (a Jew) travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him, took his possessions and clothes, beat him, and left him half dead.

A priest came down the road, saw the injured man, and passed by him on the other side. A Levite passing by did the same.

A Samaritan, from a race hated by the Jews, saw the hurt man and had compassion on him. He poured oil and wine on his wounds, bound them up, then put the man on his donkey. The Samaritan took him to an inn and cared for him.

The next morning, the Samaritan, gave two denarii to the innkeeper for the man’s care and promised to repay him on his way back for any other expenses.
Jesus asked the lawyer which of the three men had been a neighbor. The lawyer answered that the man who showed mercy was a neighbor.
Then Jesus told him, “You go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37, ESV)

 

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day-to-day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all people. Psalm 96:1-3

Have you been changed?

Every Christian strive to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, but I often wondered whether that is ever possible for many of us. It seems one cannot begin to walk in Jesus’ footsteps without first learning to walk in His shoes. The problem with that though is this: Too many of us who profess Christianity have not been changed. How do I know this? Many of us continue to hang on to bad habits, old culture and tradition long after we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Let’s be honest–the old man cannot walk in Jesus’ shoes. The person must go through a transformation process. The writer of 2 Corinthians 5:17 puts it this way:

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Saul, the notorious tax collector and Christian persecutor, never went back to his old ways after his transformation. As a matter of fact, he has some very good advice for us:

“Therefore, since a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith surrounds us, let us strip off every weight that slows us down especially the sin that so easily trips us up. Hence, let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).