Category: Life

Evolutionary Environmentalist…

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(Art Created by Vik Muniz…he created these photos and art at the land fill outside Rio)

I saw a convicting documentary last night it was called “Waste Land”  and it was about the world’s largest landfill located just outside of Rio De Janeiro Brazil.  Two things occurred when I saw this film, humanity and the slum conditions of this lower class people in Brazil struck me as horrific and surreal…it was a visceral experience.

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The second thing that struck me was the global waste problem we are causing.  From these waste mountains, for that is what they truly are, toxic gases occur, toxic run off takes place, health of both man and beast takes place and we are continually polluting our world through these unsafe practices.

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The amazing journey of world renown Brazilian artist and photographer Vik Muniz inspired me in my attempts to leave a cleaner world than I found it.  I’m not by any means a ‘tree-hugger’ type of environmentalist but God did place man in charge of this world to take care of it…and we are not doing a  very good job.

Unfortunately corporate greed and cutting costs world-wide is an epidemic that lines the pockets of the very rich and creates continued poor health conditions for not only for those working in land fills such as that in Brazil but for factory workers like those who lost their lives in Bangladesh recently because labor laws are virtually non-existent in most third world countries.

Here are three things we all can do to support a cleaner world for all of us:

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1) Purchase items sold via fair-trade and the fair-trade labels:

http://www.fairtradeusa.org/?gclid=CP6rr5vBpbcCFc9FMgodbgQAnQ

https://www.salvationist.org/poverty.nsf/vw_features/43BA11AAAE7E76CE80256B04004FA663

This gives local farmers and regional workers who get undercut by large companies and corporate markets a fair shot at selling their good products…thereby  being able to feed their families and support their local areas of commerce.

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2) Spend a little more on ‘clean’ earth friendly products.  You might spend a few cents more, but in the long run generations will thank you and you will contribute less waste and/or toxic chemicals in our global environment.  Most of these products are also safer for kids and are also less harmful in the long term in regards to all of our health.

Read though, study what is actually earth/environmentally friendly…some companies are producing ‘like’ products to entice consumers to purchase their goods when in fact they are still harmful and/or toxic, they just dressed it up to look the part.  Study and buy correctly!

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3) Recycle!  Reuse and reduce…it may be a pain in the butt…it may take you a little longer to dispose of your waste…but consider the long term effects.  Consider how much of a difference you are making on the world around you!  If you recycle and you are conscience of things that you use every day you can contribute and help fulfill our roles as good stewards of this world that God has entrusted us with.

-Just a thought…From a non-green tree-hugger, but one who is quite conscious of how beautiful our world is and how God intended it to be.  I guess that’s the evolutionary process of this compassionate conservative environmentalist…btw…thanks go out to my loving wife who has continually reminded me of this important role that we ought to play here on earth.

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“Teach us to number our days”

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  • 37 years
  • 444 months
  • 1,930 weeks
  • 13,514 days
  • 324,336 hours
  • 19,460,160 minutes
  • 1,167,609,600 seconds
  • You were born on a Friday
  • Age in Dog Years: 161.0
  • Age in Galapagos Turtle Years: 17.6

This is exactly how long I’ve been alive on this planet.

When I look at the time that has passed me it really has an impact on me.  I think of all of the wasted time, the ‘down time’, the time that I let slip through my fingers…But I also think of the miles stones in my life too.  The day I proposed to my wife which was

  • 14 years
  • 177 months
  • 772 weeks
  • 5,405 days
  • 129,720 hours
  • 7,783,200 minutes
  • 466,992,000 seconds

Ago.

I think of the days when my children were born all four of them…I recall the significant friendships that I’ve forged along the way…the meaningful connections of humanity that I’ve had the privilege to partake in and these cross roads that intersected with two or more human beings at one very specific time or place.  I have been a blessed man so far!

TWO VERSES: 
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Says;
“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live  and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

And…

Joshua 24:15 says:
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

We have this one life and my prayer is that we don’t waste it!  We have so many distractions in this life, so much wasted opportunities and wasted time…but don’t take this life for granted or watch it fly by without taking each and every moment to make a difference in this world and to serve the Lord!  We are called to be Christ’s ambassadors in this world don’t be ashamed of the gospel and don’t forget our calling!

Psalm 39:4 “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.”

How many days have you been alive?  How many minutes…Galapagos Turtle Years?

Use them or lose them…let’s all choose to use them and take each and every moment without regrets!

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“Walk in the Light” Sermon Podcast

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Click on this link for Sermon Podcast:  Walk in the Light (Sermon Podcast)

1 John 2:1-6 (NIV)
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

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RSVP: Reserve Space for Victory in Paradise!

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David… Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near…You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:1-3,6,12) 

 

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What do you do when you are invited to a party?  You send the RSVP or call in your RSVP and you confirm (if schedule allows) that you will attend.  Your response is required so that the party host will know who will attend and how many to plan for.  It’s not only polite to return your RSVP, it is an important response and action on your part…in essence you are saying “I will be there!”

In the above passage of Isaiah, the invitations for forgiveness have been sent out by God.  He wants to make what was broken whole again.  The prophecy of Messiah (Jesus) is evident in two key verses two chapters back:

 Isaiah 52:13 “See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.” &

Isaiah 53:12 “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.”

Forgiveness is at hand, the RSVP has been hand delivered to all of us, and the Host of this Redemptive party is awaiting our response.  The most telling portion of chapter 55 in Isaiah is verse 6…it says “Seek the Lord while he may be found...” It is a frightening proposition here because He seems to be saying to us, ‘make up your minds while you can.’  The implication is that our RSVP has an expiration date and we ought not postpone our response.

Forgiveness and redemption is ours, the Host of Heaven stands at the front door inviting us in…what will your response be?  Either we enter and accept His love and forgiveness or we don’t because soon that door will be closed…soon we will all be standing before Him, and in contrast, probably the most frightening passage in all of scripture is Matthew 25:31-46 when Jesus himself states clearly that the day is coming  when the King will separate the sheep from goats and He will say to the goats (those who have not accepted His invitation to forgiveness and redemption)  “‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'” (Matthew 25:41)  

We have this contrast of those who will accept the invitation and those who will not.  Yet there is hope…there is time, but if you haven’t accepted the invitation, don’t let this time slip away.  Redemption draws near, your RSVP is requested…what will your answer be?

 

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“Like-minded…but not like the Borg!”

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” -Philippians 2:1,2

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What does ‘being like minded’ mean?  I’m a science fiction geek I freely admit it!  And I recall the old Star Trek Next Generation when the Enterprise faced off a number of times with the terrifying aliens called the ‘Borg’.  The thing that stood them apart and made them so dangerous was that they were of one mind.  They were all connected to the ‘collective’ and they would absorb and assimilate other cultures and worlds, thereby gaining knowledge and understanding.  The Borg were terrifying and yet effective because of the ‘like-minded collective.

But truly, science fiction aside, what does being like-minded mean?  Are we to be God’s “collective” here on Earth?  Not for any evil purpose mind you, but for His Holy purpose?  What does being like-minded mean?  Especially when we see so many church splits, divisions and varying thoughts of ideology.  How is it that what began as one body of believers coming together to worship, testify and make other disciples has ended up being many bodies and many sets of worship practices?  Is this what Christ had in mind?  If I were to take it a step further, if this wasn’t what Christ had in mind then did He make a mistake?

The answer to both of those questions is ‘NO’!  His prayer ‘that they may all be one” (John 17:21) is still a prayer for us today.  The problem with this earthly body of believers is that we have free will.  When it comes to deciding and making our choices in worship and practice, we fall short of attaining this unity.  Let’s be honest, church has in the past, present and most probably the future been run by those within the spectrum of human authority.  Sure God has been present within churches, but not all decisions made by man have been God led or God honoring.  It is safe to say that politics is alive and well within the Church.  Both on the large and small scare this is true.  From leadership selection to the color of the carpet in a chapel there is politics involved.  I think Paul had experienced politics that was of selfish intent through various towns and cities when he went on to say in this same passage, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” -Philippians 2:3-4

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Unfortunately the down side is that some, not all, leaders are bent to self and selfish motivations.  It’s the nature of humanity that is not fully surrendered which becomes evident through the choices of man sugar coating it to be what God has intended.  But I am confident that God can take that which man has marred, that which man has broken, that which man has truly messed up and turn it into something remarkable.

It’s not that I  willingly place my faith and trust in leaders who lead this way, but rather in my submission to the Father in Heaven.  So that when I say “Thy will be done” I really mean it even if I am subjugated to a system or to leaders who are fallible and often make decisions based politically rather than biblically.

Paul implores us all to serve selflessly rather than selfishly.  When we can actually practice selflessness in word and in deed then being like-minded can actually occur within God’s body here on earth.

Confession time:

I too struggle with this in my life.  There have been times when I have made decisions based on how it will impact me rather than others.  Sometimes that full surrender isn’t made complete in me.  It’s a daily thing that must take place, in which we force our selfishness back in the box, we kneel before the Father and give Him the box again and we allow His love to shine through us instead of the light of selfish intentions and moral failings.

I want to be a transformer in my world how about you?  I want to be like-minded with others who are in the truth but this can’t be done if I’m looking out for me, myself and I.  If we are to function and thrive as His ambassadors we have to stop playing church politics and the selfishness game and instead face the mission of Christ that He beckons us to.

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A Survival Guide to the Storms of life

“Make haste, O God, to deliver me!  Make haste to help me, O Lord!  Let them be ashamed and confounded who seek my life; Let them be turned back and confused who desire my hurt.  Let them be turned back because of their shame…” -Psalm 70:1-3

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Is there a storm brewing?

Do you have burdens?

Are you going through a storm right now?

How do we get through these situations?  How do we overcome them, when possible? These are difficult questions and unfortunately there aren’t any easy answers here.  But what I do know and what others know is that going through the storms and surviving requires a supernatural power to journey with us.

Cue Bob Marley and his song “Don’t Worry About a thing – three little birds.”  We need to understand that when we are aligned with God’s will and his power that our burdens and our problems become His burdens and his problems.  That makes it so much more clearer then when we read what Jesus said about our burdens and his burdens:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) 

What Jesus is essentially saying is that though burdens exist, though we face them, that if we allow him access to them and surrender them we will experience a lightening of our load and our worry.  We were never meant to carry these things on our own.

Here are three prescriptions that will help us when we face and weather the storms of life.  If we adhere to these prescriptions we will survive and even thrive!

1) Prayer!

Don’t think for a minute that prayer is a last resort or that prayer is like casting out wishes into the universe and hoping that someone will hear you.  It is not like being on a deserted island and throwing a message in a bottle out into the sea hoping someone will find it…no!  Prayer is so much more powerful than that!  Prayer isn’t just hoping someone will hear you utter some desperate words, prayer is knowing we aren’t alone and that God’s power is accessible through all of life’s situations and mysteriously and amazingly they transcend time and space.  Meaning if there was one thing that could penetrate the science realm of space and time prayer is it.  God doesn’t work the way we do via a linear approach, God is outside of time and space and will intercede and protect us even before we utter the prayers that keep us connected to him.  When we pray, make sure it’s not just prayers in crisis…but pray to Him as a daily, even minute by minute conversation.  As difficult as this may sound, communing and conversing with him can lift many a burden before the storms arrive.  Do not underestimate prayer and its essential nature, nor its power.

2) Intercessory Prayer & the Fellowship of the Believers:

We are not alone in this world…so why do we continually think that we cannot share our burdens with other Christ followers in whom we trust?  Do we fear ridicule?  Do we fear being vulnerable before others?  We need the body of Christ more than just in the storms of life, but we ought to recognize that if the early church and its Apostles needed support then who are we to assume that we do not need help?  The fellowship of believers is vital to our continuation in the faith and another prescription by which we can weather the storms.  Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  It’s pretty clear isn’t it?  We are in this together and so we should be there for one another through thick and thin.  Do you have a home church?  Do you trust other believers within your church to help you?  If you don’t have a church or a fellowship in which you belong you are missing out on the amazing support and care that comes with the connected body of Christ.

3) Service

I know, it sounds strange.  How can we serve when we are riding each ebb and flow of this present storm surge?  The answer is faith.  If we have this continued prayer conversation with our Lord, and we have or are continually surrendering our burdens to him in the midst of the storm then what service does is put feet to our faith.  What we are essentially saying is that despite the storms we will serve the Lord.  We can’t stay stuck or static in the process of the tumult.  We have to get on with it and serve him the best that we can.  Service in the storm is two fold: a) We let his praises be glorified despite our circumstances and we acknowledge that it’s not about us but it’s about him.  b) We will be so immersed in serving God that there will be times that we will forget about our present storms.  This isn’t to say that they will go away if we ignore them, but rather when we are serving him, we are fulfilling the Lord’s prayer when we say the words ‘your will be done’…we are living it in this manner.

These are just three prescriptions to help us amidst the storms of life.  There might be more helps along the journey, but these are central to our victories through the power of the storm tamer – Jesus Christ.

Here’s to survival and to thriving in the midst of our burdens and storms:

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in (victory) triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

 

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YOLO?

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It’s been around for a while, but I think the significance of this four letter acronym should be explored.  “You only live once” is what it tells us.  What does it mean?  People have used it as a hashtag signifying & justifying poor judgement and bad decisions with this excuse “you only live once”.   There is even a ‘YOLO’ clothing line that has been started.  We’ve gone from ‘Just Do It’ and ‘No Fear’ to ‘YOLO’.  Hmm…it seems to me that what culture is telling us is that it’s okay to do what you want, when you want, where you want because you only live once.

I recognize that everyone makes mistakes in this life but if we don’t learn from them and acknowledge that we’ve made them we run the risk of never growing and maturing.  As a Christian I don’t believe that I am going to live just once and then nothing, I believe that there is an eternity and that this life we live leads us to the next, and what we do here and now counts…it matters!  So if I adopted  ‘YOLO’ as my philosophy , what I’m saying essentially is that the only thing that matters in life is the ‘here and now’.  The problem with that is that it doesn’t account for the consequences.  For example if someone sleeps around aren’t they more likely to contract an STD than someone who waits until marriage?  If someone starts smoking and burns through at least a pack a day aren’t they opening themselves up to a slew of medical problems down the road the worst being cancer and death?   I could add so many more examples of choice = consequence here but these are just two examples.

YOLO isn’t really a new phrase, it’s just wrapped in new packaging.  Some have taken scripture out of context as well when they quote passages like “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!” Isaiah 22:13 (NIV)  The meaning behind it has been eliminated and taken to mean ‘well what the heck, we can do what we want because we know we’re all going to die someday’.  

I’m not too keen on living that way because I recognize that one day each person is going to have to account for the life that we’ve lived before the Father in heaven.  That doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy life, on the contrary God has given us this life for enjoyment and pleasure but we ought to recognize that He also wants us to include Him in our lives.  When we forget consequences and forget about the future, we lose focus on what is at stake.

One of my favorite bible verses is a good guide for each of us in how we ought to live.
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 (NIV)  If we are walking humbly with our God we will enjoy this life so much more than the emptiness of comes knocking on our doors after we have lived it up and gone down roads that we now regret.  

On the plus side, perhaps there is merit to ‘YOLO’…perhaps you can take this phrase to mean ‘hey you only live once in flesh and bone so make it count, do what you can to live a godly life and glorify the Lord in your living’!  I think if I were to embrace YOLO that is what I would take it to mean.  Will I make it count?  Can I live a God pleasing life?  Can I help lead others to Him along the way?  ‘YOLO’!

-Just a thought for today!

Here’s some humor for your Monday:

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On-line Bullies…let me at em!!

A Story about the effects of Bullying:

Star Wars Kid Years Later Talks about his horrific experience:

I’m sure almost everyone has seen the star wars kid on youtube and other viral video sites…did you know that he was mortified when this video was released without his knowledge or permission?  And because of it he had to change schools and suffer the behind the hand snickers and ridicule of being an unwanted celebrity.

The new forms of bullying is truly alive and well on the world wide web!  Can I make a confession?  I hate bullies.  I know hate is a tough word but seriously bullies are cowards that pick on their victims…it’s painful and I absolutely can’t stand people who conduct themselves in this manner.

Perhaps you’ve been there as a child or even as an adult…we should be mindful of the viral world that our children are exposed to in this world and be vigilant in protecting them along with others who are incapable of protecting themselves.   Be the difference in your children’s lives and those that you are able to protect!  Stand up to bullies!  This is more than just a PSA, this should be a way of life!   Be a change maker in the lives of those who are being picked on or bullied!   Stand up and make a difference!

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Sacramental whether we like it or not

“As his sacramental people, we find him living and at work in our own life-experiences. We celebrate the presence, the gift, the healing, the reconciliation, the joy in our own life by connecting it with the earthly life of Jesus. We are a sacramental community because our life, our work, and our celebrations centre on Christ, the one true Sacrament. Our life together is sacramental because we live by faith in him and our everyday lives reveal and offer unexpected grace, his undeserved gift again and again.” (The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine, p.270)

Concise Dictionary of Religion calls a sacrament “a Rite in which GOD (or Gods) is (are) uniquely active”.

By this definition of what sacramental means every Christian church on earth is sacramental. If we invite the holy presence of God to meet us in our worship, which is usually the case in times of worship for without His presence in what we do, church is meaningless and should be regarded as social hour instead of worship. We do not pray to each other, so God becomes active in prayer therefore making it sacramental within our worship. When we read from His word, which we attest to being living and active and the only source of Christian faith and practice, we acknowledge that His word is vital and applicable to godly living therefore God is again active in our worship. By this definition alone we attest that we are sacramental people who wish to interact with a living and Holy God.

Sacramental living has unfortunately been compartmentalized within church to be specific actions or rituals in which we do or do not participate in, such as Communion or baptism. While these two specific acts of worship have the potential to be sacred moments in Christian living, they hold no more or less sacred value than that of corporate prayer or the call to salvation in an altar call setting. One could argue that we have been instructed through scripture to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19) But many fail to realize the context in which Christ was instructing…what does remembrance mean? Where was Jesus and the disciples when he gave this command. Many would argue that it is strictly the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine, but if we were to explore further in this context of this scripture the entire ecclesia of believers/disciples were gathered together over the dinner table and fellowshipping with Christ. This too is divine interaction in the context of worship! A meal together in the corporate sense of worship is sacramental as well, not just the breaking of bread and the passing of the cup…I believe historically we as Church have only scratched the surface of the sacraments when we only take a portion of the passover meal in the two elements and make it something more than it should be. Dare I say it’s a misrepresentation of scripture to evoke one segment of this meal with his disciples to be more important than the entirety as a whole.

We are sacramental as a people because of the unity of the body through Christ Jesus. When we as His people participate unified in the corporate setting we are doing this in remembrance of Him. Our worship is never perfect, we all have our hang ups, but when we invite God to partake in our prayers, songs, scripture readings, message, meals we are practicing sacramental living.

Holy living within the context of partaking in these sacred moments is the result of our invitation and reception of His presence. We enter into His presence not only in church but in our private prayer closets and daily devotional lives. We have received his holy presence at salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit prods us onward in becoming more like Christ in our new creation through continued surrender of every fragment of our being. Submission or fully surrendered lives to the Holy Spirit is by far the most sacred sacrament we partake in within our human existence.

We are sacramental in word and deed whether we like it or not…but I’m willing to venture a guess that upon receiving and accepting His presence in our lives this realization becomes all too clear through our surrender and His love which permeates every fiber of our transformed lives.

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An Angelic Prison Break

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Jesus had told him that he would go where he didn’t want to go and be led to places he never wished to be…but Peter wasn’t quite prepared for the violent onslaught the seemed to never end for his fellow apostles.  Stephen had seen a horrific end, though many had believed.  Now, sitting in prison in chains, surrounded by guards Peter considered that this might be the end of his journey too.  After all, just hours ago Herod had executed James the brother of John by the sword and Peter though full of faith, wept for his family.  In a very small corner of his mind he ponders just for a brief second what may have taken place had he left Jesus when he had had the chance.   Yet, Peter quickly pushes that thought aside as an overwhelming warmth of love fills his body when we remembers the master’s face.  He remembers what forgiveness felt like on that beach after he had denied Him three times.  His love poured out undeservedly upon Peter.  “No I would not change a thing”, Peter says to himself.  No second guessing, no self-pity, no turning back!

The chains jingle as Peter, a little bruised and tender, shifts position in the dingy rank cellar of a prison.  The guards are positioned all around him, as if Peter were some sort of Samson-strong man who could take down a regiment of soldiers with just a jaw bone of a donkey.   The guards eye him carefully as he shifts in his chains, King Herod had been explicitly clear that this man had to be watched and that if anything happened to him they would pay the price with their lives.  King Herod was a vicious man not to be trifled with or taken lightly.

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Minutes pass that seem like hours, as the torches on the walls flicker casting shadows on the molding green stones of the cell.  Peter, slumped and weary, closes his eyes intent on praying but too emotionally drained falls quickly into a fitful sleep.   It seems like a second passes when someone strikes him on the side to awaken him.  At first Peter thinks it’s one of the guards and he wonders to himself, “is it time?”  Looking up he finds not a solider dressed in military garb, but rather an Angel luminescent and powerful to behold.   As Peter looks at the angel, sleep blurred and groggy, the angel looks fiercely back at him and says, “Quick, get up!”  Thinking it a vision, Peter doesn’t hesitate or ask any questions and as he moves to pick himself up off of the damp floor, the chains fall off of him as if they had never been clasped tightly around him at all.  Bewildered and yet unsure of what this was real or a vision, Peter stands before the Angel.

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“Put on your clothes and your sandals Peter!”   The angel continues his instructions to Peter, “wrap yourself in your cloak as well!”  Peter doesn’t waste any time in protesting, he’s learned long ago not to question but to obey.  After dressing and putting on his cloak, the angel instructs him, “Follow me.”  Again Peter, thinking this to be a vision, does what the angel says and puts one foot in the front of the other and walks right out of the prison.  He walks right past the guards who had been keeping a careful watch over him and they do not even respond to his passing.  He follows the angel through the metal doors and past the outer door that leads into the city.  The door even opens by itself.  After Peter has walked with the angel for about two city blocks, suddenly two things dramatically occur: The angel disappears, vanishes completely from sight.  The second thing that amazes Peter is that this isn’t a vision at all.  This is very real…and he is now free!  What started out as a death row vigil has become a divine prison break!

Full of joy and renewed mission, Peter makes his way to the house of Mary, mother of John Mark.  His fellow brothers and sisters in Christ were gathered there earnestly praying.  And as Peter knocks on the front door, a servant girl answers and is shocked to see Peter there in front of her.  She is so shocked by his appearance there that she shuts the door on him and runs off to announce his arrival.  A fugitive, by the name of Peter, is standing outside in the open air while the small house church is made aware of his escape and arrival!  At first they don’t believe the servant girl, “how could this be?”  One apostle asks.  “She’s just making up stories!” Another voice calls out from the back of the room.   Then another Christ-follower offers another conclusion of who it might be; “It could be an angel” He says.  Now curious what or who has caused this commotion, they all rush to the front door and find out for themselves that it is in fact Peter who is still knocking at the door.  Peter is standing there and he is free!  They are amazed at this miracle!   For hours they had been gathered in a small room made sacred by their continued prayers.  Their faith, love and intercessory prayers had been answered!

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Peter, though prison weary, recounts the miracle and the angel and all who hear rejoice and are amazed!  Knowing he is now a wanted man who is an escapee from prison, Peter leaves their company quickly and without delay before the sun even has a chance to crest over the city walls.

Does God answer prayer?  In the midst of our deepest struggles and in the midst of our trouble lives the answer is a resounding ‘YES’!  Though there will be times that He doesn’t answer the way that we think He should, what we are called to be is faithful!  Will the dangers be lifted from us?  Not always.  We may still have to endure the valley of the shadow of death a time or two…but know that we never walk these paths alone!  God really means it when He says that He is our shepherd and we are under His care!  Believe it and received it today!

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