Friday 9 Apr 2021

April 9: Acts 4:1-4
 
Key Verse: Acts 4:3
They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
 
Devotion:
There are so many accounts of what we may look at as being rough justice for the disciples as they spread the gospel message to everyone they came into contact with. This sort of history can be off-putting for us – why should we have to go through rough justice just to tell people about Jesus? Well, have a think about how much Jesus did for you...
 
Every instance of the Apostles being attacked, imprisoned, hunted down or otherwise persecuted, has a persecutor behind it. And behind that persecutor is a feeling or emotion – normally pride or greed! The Apostles were persecuted because of the pride and greed of other people, not because they were telling the truth. This is going to be the case no matter what truth we are telling in our lives. If you stand up and tell the truth, there will probably be someone who wants that truth hidden and will do anything to hide it...
 
Jesus sees directly into our hearts and knows why we do the things we do. He knew what would happen when He stood up and told the truth. He could see the corruption of the people in charge of the country or religion at the time, just as He sees into our hearts right now. What He is asking us to do, and has been asking mankind forever, is to try and tell the truth and share the truth about God... What could be better than a world where we all know about God, about Jesus and work with the Holy Spirit at all times? Alas, sin is always going to be in our lives until we get to Heaven; so we need to be ready to put up with the consequences of sin...
 
Points to Ponder:
Are you afraid to tell the truth?
 
What would happen if people found out you were telling lies?