Day 8 (Acts 11-12)

SCRIPTURE: Acts 11 & 12 Excerpt from Acts 12:10-11 (ESV) 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting. OBSERVATION: Acts 11 and 12 contain a common theme related to God’s miracle-working power. In Acts 12, Peter was miraculously delivered from prison. An angel of the Lord woke Peter while he was chained to two guards, and walked with him out of the prison AND out of the city, away from all who intended him harm. While the miracle was obvious in this chapter, something just as profound occurred in the preceding one. Acts 11 recounts a fundamental change in the mindset and belief systems of early Jewish believers, as they received God’s plan for fellowship with Gentile believers in the early church. Through Peter, the Jewish believers were able to acknowledge that God had granted the gift of repentance to anyone who believes in Jesus. APPLICATION: Psalm 77:14 tells us that God is a miracle working God. Just as God miraculously delivered Peter from a physical prison, He was also able to deliver the Jewish believers from restrictive mindsets and thoughts. We’re believing that God has miraculous things that He wants to do in your life; whether they are miracles we can see with our eyes like the one in Acts 12, or ones that we cannot see in Acts 11! Whether you have a need for a physical miracle, or a need for a psychological, emotional, or relational miracle, God is able to do so through his miracle working power! Our prayer is that just as Peter was convinced that was able to work on his behalf, you would be convinced that God would be able to work on your behalf as well. PRAYER: Lord, we thank you for your miracle working power. Even though we may not always see the evidence of how you are working on our behalf, help us to have faith that you are working all things out for our good. Lord we lift up the areas in our lives that we are in need of a miracle, whether they be ones that we can see with our eyes, or whether they be needs found in our minds and in our hearts. We lift up the needs of our loved ones to you. We believe and trust that you will make known your might and power in our lives according to your glory, and according to your perfect plan. We pray all this in Jesus’ name - Amen.