Faith File Addition

At times, we will experience desperate situations that encourage us to pray, and recruit other believers to pray with us, but it takes faith to know that God hears our prayers and is acting on our behalf. In Acts 12:11, Peter thought that he was dreaming when the angel led him out of the prison into the street. When he came to himself, he said"now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating." God is forever faithful; in desperate situations, we must be able to refer back to the many times that God has delivered us in the past.

Just do it!

When God speaks, or sends His messenger He always does so for your benefit. In Acts 12:9-10, Peter followed the angel out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. " Peter did not know where he was going or what was happening, but he recognized that this encounter was sent by God.

Prepared for deliverance

In Acts 12:1-7, the Bible recounts the story of Peter's escape from prison as he was facing execution at the hand of Herod. The night before, Peter is sound asleep, then is awakened by an angel, who spoke and the chains fell off of him. In verse 8, the angel says "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him." Peter was awake and free of his chains, but he was still in his prison cell. He needed to prepare himself, get dressed, and follow the angel out of the prison so he could truly be free.

Wake up call

In the book of Acts, we see that Peter is in prison, possibly facing execution in the morning, bound in chains between guards, and Peter is sound asleep. In Acts 12:7, the Bible says "suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists." The angel did not give him options; he woke him up and commanded him to get up, as the chains fell off Peter at the angel's command. When God is ready to deliver you, in whatever situation you may be in, there is nothing that can hinder your deliverance.

Peace in adversity

God has a way of bringing us peace even when we face our most critical adversities. In Acts 12:5-6, Peter was in a desperate situation. He was in prison, facing execution at the hand of Herod the next day, but "the church was earnestly praying to God for him." Peter witnessed the brutal murders of his closest friends, other apostles and Christ himself, at Herod's command, yet the night before he was going to trial, he was "sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Even with all that you may go through today or even this week, you can still rest as God will grant you peace.

Broken for ministry

As believers, at times, we face great testing and trials as we progress on our Christian walk. At times, we detour from God's perfect will and have to face those consequences, and only God is able to restore us. In Psalm 51:12-13, David prays "restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you." David realizes that he made a grave mistake; he repents and accepts the consequences, but God wholly restores him, and equips him for his ministry.

Actions and Consequences

An old adage warns that "every action has a consequence or reaction." The saying rings true in nearly every aspect of our lives, whether that consequence or reaction is positive or negative. In Psalm 51:11, David prays "do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." When we sin, even when we repent, we still have to face the consequences. David recognizes that he will have to face the consequences of his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. He also realizes that he can accept and endure through any consequence as long as God is with him. Just as David, we can endure all sorts of hardships, as long as we go through them in God's presence.

Pure at heart

We are confronted with sin, and at times, we may give in to the temptations, which often started as a result of the sins that we committed in our hearts before we carried them out with our bodies. In Psalm 51:10, David prays"create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Just as David, when we find that we have committed sin, we have the opportunity to repent and allow God to create a pure heart and steadfast spirit within us.

Broken, but rejoicing

David writes Psalm 51 after he sends Bathsheba's husband to his death, has an affair with her, then experiences the death of his son conceived as a result of that affair. In Psalm 51:8, David prays "let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice."David was crushed in his spirit; he repented, but he still suffered the consequences of his sin. Even in his suffering, he still had a heart to worship God.

Clean inside

Department stores carry a wide variety of personal products that promise to cover the flaws that we don't want others to see. In Psalm 51:7, David prays "cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." God desires to not only cover up our flaws and sins, but cleanse us completely and wash them away. We do not need to buy any fancy products or participate in rituals that cleanse the outside; we only need to repent to make us clean on the inside.

Faithful God

The love of God is so powerful that He loves us in spite of ourselves. In 2 Timothy 2: 11-13, Paul declares "if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." Even when we do not fulfill all that God has designed for us, or stray away from His perfect will, God will remain faithful, as we His beloved people.

Free in the Word

At times, it seems as though freedom is just an abstract concept. We may find ourselves in all sorts of situations that confine us: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. In 2 Timothy 2:8-9, the apostle urges his readers to "remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained." As Paul writes from prison, he is physically in confined, but his mind and spirit are free in God's word. Just as Paul was free in the word, we can all be free as well.

Kingdom farming

A farmer gets up well before sunrise, plants seed in the proper season, tends to his animals and his crops, then gathers the harvest in its season. In 2 Timothy 2:6, the apostle says "the hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops." The farmer's hard work is beneficial to more than just the farmer; when he has a plentiful harvest, he is able to share it with others to benefit us all. The same principle applies to building the kingdom: you may plant the seed of the word, till the soil of men's hearts, and nurture babes in Christ, but the harvest builds up the collective kingdom of God.

Winning by the rules

In the past few years, we have witnessed many of our beloved athletes stripped of their titles and other accolades because they used performance-enhancing drugs while they were competing. They used an unfair advantage over their peers to win; they were not following the rules. In 2 Timothy 2:5, Paul says "if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules." This Christian walk can be a strenuous sport at times, but God has promised us the victory. We win if we finish this race and follow His rules, we will receive His crown of life.

God's soldier

A favorite congregational song declares "I'm a soldier in the army of the Lord!" The song is encouraging and inspirational, but we need more than a song to live in victory. In 2 Timothy 2:3-4, the apostle says "endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer." As soldiers in God's Army, our commanding officer is Christ; as we serve Him, he leads, directs, protects, and corrects us, through His word and revelation.

Recovering all

Even at our lowest point, we can never go so far down or lose so much, that God cannot restore us. David was at one of the lowest points in his life; he lost his family, his possessions, and the trust of his people, but God allowed him to recover all that his enemy had stolen. In 1 Samuel 30:18-19, the Bible declares "David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back." When your enemy has stolen all that you consider as precious, God has a way of leading you into the enemy's camp to recover it all.

Spring Cleaning

The first weeks of Spring are great times to clean out all of the Winter clutter, in your home as well in your life. One of simplest ways to clear out clutter in your life is to examine your thoughts and words. In James 1:21, the apostle describes the method to clear out clutter. He says "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." Instead of thinking and speaking about negative and wicked things, clear out that clutter, and focus on the word of God.

Wise in the word

Some people believe that an older person must be wise, and a teacher must be a great authority on their subject matter. In Psalm 119: 100, the psalmist declares " I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. " Age and education are beneficial to knowledge and understanding the things of the world, but one can gain wisdom only through meditating and understanding God's word.

Now that's love!

Consider how the people around you know that you love them. Do you tell them regularly? Do you give them a shoulder to cry on or just an ear to listen to them, or does your faithful presence show them that you love them? In 1 John 3:18-20, the apostle says "let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." God know things about us that our closest friends don't, and He is still faithful, kind, and loving in spite of our shortcomings just because he loves us.

A welcome exchange

When we purchase a product that is defective or fits poorly, we have the option to either return it to the source for an exchange or a refund for the amount of the item. Thankfully, God's exchange system works quite differently. In Isaiah 61:1-3, the prophet declares " He has sent me to ... comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." The exchange that we have with God is greater than we could hope for in the natural. We give Him our pain, tears, and despair; He gives us joy, hope, and peace in return.

Justified

The dictionary defines justification as an act to "declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit;"Christ did all of those things us all when He laid down His life on the cross. In Isaiah 53:11-12, the prophet declares " after the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Even though we were all guilty of sins from the day that we were born, Christ justified us from all sins; past, present, and future.

No fault in Him

In a modern court, if the prosecutor is not able to provide evidence of a crime, then the case is often thrown out of court and the accused is set free. In Luke 23:13-15, the apostle recounts Christ's innocence before the priests, rulers, and people. He says “you have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him." Christ was innocent; He committed no sin or crime, but He chose to carry the sins of the world. He accepted the ultimate judgement for us all at the cross.