Written by Mark Driskill:
Tuesday April 26, 2011
Read Acts 12:12-16
“But Peter continued knocking…”
If you have ever wondered if there is any humor in the Bible here’s a great example. In this story the Apostle Peter has been held in prison under threat of execution for his faith. The church is having an all night prayer meeting pleading for God to set him free from his captors. During the night an angel is sent to loose his chains and walk him right out of prison while the guards slept. So Peter goes to the house where the church is meeting to let them know he is free and their prayers have been answered. Here’s where it gets funny. I would love to have seen this happening.
Peter knocks on the door frantically, maybe looking over his shoulder to see if soldiers are coming after him. He’s probably a little chilly in the early morning air. Rhoda, a servant girl, answers the door and sees the Apostle standing there with a grin on his face, expecting her to open the door and let him in. He’s still glancing over his shoulder expecting soldiers on his heels. Does she open the door and let him in? Nope. In her joy she slams the door in his face and runs inside to tell the rest, “Peter is here!” while Peter keeps dancing up and down, knocking frantically, “Somebody let me in!” It gets even more hilarious as the church folk in the house, who have been praying for Peter to be freed, start debating with Rhoda, “You are out of your mind!” insisting she was seeing his angel or something. All the while poor old Peter is banging on the door, looking over his shoulder, and probably has to go to the bathroom as well. Finally somebody gets the brilliant idea to go open the door and let the apostle inside. Maybe it’s just me but I think this would make a great comedy scene for those unafraid to mix humor with truth.
It’s funny isn’t it, how they left the poor guy standing out in the cold while they debated? They had been asking God to do something in their lives and when the answer came knocking they almost reasoned it away. “Oh it can’t be Peter, it’s probably his angel!” All the while the answer to their prayers was knocking on the door. It’s a good thing they finally put away their cynicism, and got around to believing. Have you done that yet?
You have been looking for God, asking him to show you who he is. You’ve been praying that God would show up in your life and help you in your time of need. You’re in a bad spot and have decided to see if God is out there. You’ve been praying maybe for the first time in your life. That’s great! Problem is you may not have noticed all the ways he has been knocking on your door, saying, “It’s me! I’m here!”
You see unusual things happening in your life, unexpected twists and turns in your journey, unforeseen blessings just when you need them. But rather than fling open the door of faith you just keep rationalizing and debating within yourself, “How do I know it’s God?” you say. All the while just on the other side of the door the answer to all your prayers, and the comfort for all your pain is waiting for you to put aside your finely crafted arguments, and just believe.
t’s like Jesus said, “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) Friend you have spent way too much time trying to figure God out. It may be time for you to give up your rationalizing and just open the door. Turn around and just believe. God will take care of the rest.
Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten by the word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and www.facebook.com (to group “begotten by the word”)
Begotten by the word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)
Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.
