“Acts 5:17-32”

Friday, December 25, 2015

“But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, ‘Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.’ Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest and his associates came, they called the Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought. But the officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported back, saying, ‘We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside.’ Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this. But someone came and reported to them, ‘The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!’ Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned). When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.’”

---End of Scripture verses---

“We must obey God rather than men” (verse 29). This is the simple but powerful takeaway from today’s reading. When the Apostles were arrested for preaching eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus and were ordered to stop doing so, that just wasn’t an option to them. They would not even consider disobeying the Lord in order to please other people and save their own skin.

My prayer for the entire group today is that we will all adopt this same mentality. That we make the determination to obey God no matter the earthly consequence. That we will not love father or mother or son or daughter more than the Lord (Matthew 10:37-39). That we won’t allow peer pressure or workplace influences or even our own selfish lusts and wants to cause us to sin against our Father in heaven. That we will give God priority over all others and all else by loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30).

Of course, in order for us to do this, we must endeavor to study our Bibles with earnest and learn “the whole message of this Life” (verse 20). If we truly desire to please God in every way and do His will and put Him first, we must first learn what His will is. May we not be satisfied with skimming the surface of “the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Let us determine to dive deep and linger long and learn “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Thank all of you for taking the time to read and study God’s word with us! May that ever be the top priority of our lives!

Tomorrow’s reading is Acts 5:33-42.

Have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

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