Acts 12:6-10 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
I love this story! Peter was sitting between two guards and suddenly an angel of the Lord comes to him and frees him — and he thinks it’s a vision! He’s not sure if he truly believes it.
Then, after his escape, Peter goes to where believers are interceding for him and knocks on the door — they didn’t open the door immediately! The young lady, Rhoda who reported that Peter was at the door was accused of being “mad!” Can you imagine? Even those praying for his freedom, are surprised that he’s actually FREE!
There are two points I want to stress in this story. First, Peter is freed supernaturally with angelic assistance — and he believes it was a vision! He had to step into the reality that he was actually FREE! Secondly, there were believers who talked about FREEDOM, but when true freedom came — they were shocked as though they truly didn’t believe in their prayers!
There are many believers who know they SHOULD be free in Yeshua (Jesus). They have a head knowledge of freedom –- but somehow they haven’t grasped the reality of the freedom that is promised! They walk with the vision without living the reality!
My challenge to you today is to walk in the reality of the freedom you have in Him! Take the promises of God and say, “If the Son has made me free, then I’m free indeed!” And claim that for your life today! Don’t be stuck in a vision of freedom – live in the reality of freedom! Claim it and live it today!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Isn’t it interesting that of the multitudes thronging and pressing toward Yeshua (Jesus), only one really touched Him? What made Yeshua notice her among all the rest?
Here’s another interesting Hebrew word parallel. The Hebrew word for “love” or “affection”, “chiba”, is formed by the same root letters as the word, “chova”, “obligation”, “debt”, or “duty”. In Hebrew, the only difference between these two words is a few vowel points. But you say, “Isn’t love the very opposite of obligation !?” Well, yes and no. The Hebrew language has a wonderful way of relating concepts which seem incompatible.
In Hebrew, the word for hardness is “kosher”. Interestingly enough, the word “kosher” also means “fitness”, as from a workout in the gym. Yes — it’s a workout to serve the Lord in this world — but God has called us to it!
One of the great marvels of the Roman Empire was the invention of the aqueduct system to provide water over vast distances. It was an absolutely ingenious method which made use of gravity, with stone arches to support the water channels. An aqueduct was built in 109 AD which carried water to the city of Segovia for eighteen hundred years. For nearly sixty generations this aqueduct provided cool water from the mountains above. But fairly recently, it was beginning to collapse.
I love fishing but sadly, I haven't been able to do it in quite some time. Yeah, I know, one would think there'd be some good fishing spots here in Israel. However, from what I understand, they're not really available to the public. So sad. Nevertheless, fishing gives me a chance to get a break from the world and just relax and meditate -- and on a good day, maybe catch a fish or two.
When Daniel was in the midst of the lion’s den…God was with him. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the midst of the fiery furnace…God was with them. It would have been perfectly easy for God to immediately transport these saints out of their difficulties, but no, He chose instead to be with them in the midst of their trials. God chose to reveal His power through the trials instead of exercising His power to remove them.
Doesn’t it seem like just when we get that much needed breakthrough, suddenly the enemy comes to attack? In this passage we read how the Philistines heard that David was anointed King and quickly assembled together to seek and destroy him. And what does David do? Does he become fearful? No. Does he hide? No! David goes out to meet them!