“But Peter and the other apostles
answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men”—Acts 5:29
All over the world we are getting
reports that Christians are being persecuted for their beliefs. House pastors are being sent to prison and tortured,
in one country, a group of believers had gathered in the church to pray when radical
extremist burnt the church down. While
in other countries, believers are being exiled from their families, and turned
into the streets to live. In America, I
am not personally aware that the degree of persecution that Christians suffer
in some other countries occurs here.
Because my parents thought that my
husband and I had become involved in a cult, we were persecuted. We literally had to leave our home and
property. We are like so many people
that have chosen to obey God leaving all to follow Him, and have seen the
fulfillment of Christ’s promise, as recorded in Luke 18:28-30. “Then
Peter said, ‘See, we have left all and followed You.’ So He said to them, ‘Assuredly,
I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife
or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many
times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.’” At the time, the way was very difficult
for us; however, through the Lord and the process of time, our relationship with
my parents was healed. Plus, we are
still receiving many times more than what we financially and physically left,
and we have the assurance of eternal life.
Today, even if the way seems
difficult, choose to obey God.
Your heavenly Father loves you, and He is working in your life behind
the scenes creating a way of escape for you just like He did for Peter and the
early disciples.
Mighty signs and wonders were being
done, in the early days, of the Church. So
many people were being healed that they eventually began laying people in the
street, so if Peter’s shadow fell on them, they would be healed. The religious leaders became jealous of what
was happening and placed the apostles into prison. An angel of the Lord opened the prison door
that night, and told them to stand in the temple to preach. The next morning the apostles obeyed God and
preached. The religious leaders had them
brought back into court telling them that they had been charged not to preach
in the name of Jesus. However, the
apostles replied, “…we ought to obey God
rather than men.” They went on to
preach that they had murdered Jesus, and that God had raised Him from the dead
highly exalting Him; furthermore, they were witness of these things along with
the Holy Spirit. Eventually, the
apostles were freed after they had been beaten and charged once again not to
preach in the name of Jesus. “So they departed from the presence of the
council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.
And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and
preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:12-42).
The early believers were motivated
to follow the Lord because of their conviction.
They were absolutely convinced of God’s
Sovereignty. Peter and the other
disciples recognized that God had carried out His divine plan of redemption in
Jesus’ lie, death, and resurrection.
Convinced that salvation was found in Christ alone, they had the courage
to speak boldly about their faith. They
did not alter their words, even when confronted with a powerful authority. Instead, they gave allegiance to God and
obeyed Him.
Their obedience was motivated by gratitude. After betraying
the Lord, Peter had wept over his failure (Mark 14:72). Stop and think about the disciple’s joy to
realize that Christ had forgiven him for his mistakes and restored him to a
right relationship with God (Mark 16:7; John 21:15-17). With his past behind him, Peter became a
leader of the Jerusalem church, with a passion to obey fueled by a thankful
heart.
God is in charge of our lives. He has rescued us from the bondage of sin,
forgiven us, and brought us into His family.
Grateful obedience should be our response too. Like Peter, let us commit to following our
heavenly Father wherever He leads.
Prayer—Father
I recognize Your Sovereignty in my life and I am grateful. I choose to obey You even in the difficult
times, when I can see no way of escape, I know that you are working in my
behalf, and I will follow You wherever You lead, in Jesus Name. Amen.
