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1/12 Reading Portions: Genesis 13; Matthew 12; Nehemiah 2; Acts 12
Acts 12:6
Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.
PEACE
Herod was a bloodthirsty (Acts 12:2), pandering (Acts 12:3), glory-grubbing (Acts 12:22-23) wretch. After murdering James, he arrested Simon Peter and put him under the watch of four squads of soldiers (sixteen men), which rotated four at a time through four six-hour watches. Peter was chained between two guards while two guards stood watch outside the prison door. Because of the execution of James, he surely knew what Herod’s plans were for him— death. Yet Peter slept soundly while chained between two guards. When in Christ, tribulation in the world, hatred by the world, and persecution from the world cannot shake us. Even in the face of death, we should be as secure in the everlasting arms of Jesus as a babe is in the tender safety of a mother’s loving arms. The Lord promises this to His own, as He tells us through the apostle that...
the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
Peter possessed this peace. We, too, should own this peace. We are not to put our trust in princes or the sons of men, for they cannot save nor enhance our salvation (Psa 146:3). National leaders, however good they may be for a country, are only there by the grace and mercy of God; for only Christ can save, and only the Holy Spirit can sanctify through the truth of God’s Word. National leaders, however wretched or reckless they may be, should never shake the faith or disturb the peace of Christ’s own. The landscape of our local, or even national, circumstances may change. They may be unsettling or even downright horrid. Nevertheless, the child of God will have peace beyond comprehension in the face of adversity because we trust in a sovereign Christ (Rev 19:6). His sovereignty is not to make our lives easy; it is to move our priorities from the temporal to the eternal. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
When we can trust in Christ alone,
His peace we will embrace;
We’ll persevere till we’re call’d home
And see our Master’s face.
very good article. The world will never experience real peace , only a child of God.