"My chains are gone"

Acts 12

James Is Killed and Peter Is Imprisoned
1 About that time King Herod Agrippa* began to persecute some believers in the church.2 He had the apostle James (John's brother) killed with a sword.3 When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.*)4 Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover.5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

Peter's Miraculous Escape from Prison6 The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.7 Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, "Quick! Get up!" And the chains fell off his wrists.8 Then the angel told him, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." And he did. "Now put on your coat and follow me," the angel ordered.
  9 So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn't realize it was actually happening.10 They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.
  11 Peter finally came to his senses. "It's really true!" he said. "The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders* had planned to do to me!"
  12 When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.13 He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, "Peter is standing at the door!"
  15 "You're out of your mind!" they said. When she insisted, they decided, "It must be his angel."
  16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.17 He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. "Tell James and the other brothers what happened," he said. And then he went to another place.
  18 At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter.19 Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn't be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.
The Death of Herod Agrippa20 Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod's country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod's personal assistant,21 and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them.22 The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, "It's the voice of a god, not of a man!"
  23 Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people's worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.
  24 Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.
  25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned,* taking John Mark with them.


I was reminded of this passage of scripture in Vacation Bible Study a few nights ago, and while I was listening to the story of how Peter was imprisoned, this analogy came to my thoughts.  Peter went to jail for sharing the gospel, and being a bold christian.  They locked him up in a prison that was in the middle of wall after wall, door after door, like a chamber and he had two guards chained to him, and two more in front of him. 


While I was listening to the rest of the story about how the angel came to release Peter, this is what I was thinking.  Think of yourself as Peter, put yourself in his body in that musty, nasty prison with chains on your arms, and four guards holding you captive.  Now think of it this way, that's all of us!  We're all tied down by chains (our sin) and we're held back by guards (this world's culture, and ways), and there is a God that loves us that wants to set us free just like Peter! 


Jesus Christ loves you, as He does me, and everyone who has ever lived, and ever will live on this earth.  But He gives us the choice to love him back and serve him and as a gift He gives us an eternity spent with Him in heaven when we die.  Opposite of that is eternal damnation to hell. 


Now for some hope! 1John 2:15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.  And Romans 12:2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. One more!   Ephesians 2:8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
So, all we have to do is accept Jesus into our hearts, and turn away from our sinful flesh as much as we can, and we can be free just like Peter!  God is waiting for us to come to Him, and whether or not you believe that, He is drawing us all closer and closer to Him everyday.


May the Lord Jesus open your heart to His word, and to Himself, so that He may use your very life that He gave you to bring Him the glory that He won on the cross! God bless you all :)