Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Acts 11-12
Key Verse
Acts 11:28 — “And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.”
Devotional Thought
The early church is learning, in these chapters, that God is larger than their expectations. Peter comes up to Jerusalem and is immediately met with contention: “Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.” The complaint is not trivial. It is the deep instinct of a covenant people who have spent their lives separating clean from unclean. Peter does not dismiss them. He rehearses the whole matter in order—the sheet let down from heaven at Joppa, the voice saying, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common,” the three men from Caesarea, the Spirit falling on Gentiles just as at Pentecost. Then he asks the question that ends the argument: “What was I, that I could withstand God?” And they held their peace and glorified God.
Meanwhile, in Antioch, unnamed men from Cyprus and Cyrene begin preaching to the Grecians, and “the hand of the Lord was with them.” Barnabas is sent to see, rejoices, and then goes to Tarsus to fetch Saul. For a whole year they teach together, and it is here, in that mixed and unremarkable city, that the disciples are first called Christians. Alongside this growth comes cost. Herod kills James the brother of John with the sword, and imprisons Peter during the days of unleavened bread. The church prays without ceasing. An angel wakes Peter, chains fall from his hands, and an iron gate opens of its own accord. He arrives at Mary’s house while the gathered believers are still praying—and Rhoda, hearing his voice, runs off in joy and leaves him knocking at the door. They tell her she is mad. When they finally open it, they are astonished.
And then Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, receives the shout “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man,” and does not give God the glory. He is struck down, eaten of worms. Over against his pomp stands one quiet sentence: “But the word of God grew and multiplied.” Two kings, two verdicts. Herod takes glory and dies; the word goes on.
In these first weeks of January, when the year still feels like an open page, this is a good word for us. We often pray with the early church, and then are startled when God actually answers—like Rhoda’s friends, we leave the answer standing at the gate while we argue about whether it can be true. We also build our own small kingdoms of reputation and control, and forget that glory belongs to God alone. The lesson of Acts 11 and 12 is steady and plain: God is not confined to our categories, our prayers are heard, and His word keeps growing whether or not we can keep up with it.
Reflection
- Where has God plainly worked in a way that unsettled your expectations, and have you argued with Him like the circumcision party, or glorified Him like they finally did?
- When you have prayed earnestly for something, do you recognize the answer when it arrives—or do you, like the believers at Mary’s house, keep praying while the deliverance stands knocking at the door?
Prayer
Lord, we confess that we often limit You to what we already understand. You cleansed the Gentiles and called them to repentance unto life; You opened the prison for Peter while Your church prayed; You struck down Herod for taking glory that belongs to You alone. Teach us to hold our peace and glorify You when Your hand moves beyond our expectations. Keep us praying without ceasing, and give us eyes to see the answer when it comes. Let Your word grow and multiply in us and through us, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.