It could happen to You

Acts 4:23-31

It could happen to you and to me, and you ask, what could happen?  The very same thing that is being recorded in these verses, and what this writer finds so amazing was that long before it occurred king David said by the Holy Spirit these words, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” (Psalm 2:1-3 ESV) 

If you missed yesterdays “Back Porch,” let me bring you up to date, the rulers of the people, their Supreme Court has make a decision and it was this; “So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.  (Acts 4:18 ESV)  Then they released them without harming them, because of their fear of the people.  We pickup the story in verses 23-26, “When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.’” 

Few people have enjoyed the freedom to live and worship as we in the United States have enjoyed.  I often wonder, are my thoughts on freedom and liberty the same as others of the Christian faith?  Many of us dream of liberties that we lost, like fishing in any body of water that is not privately owned without limits and license, or like correcting our children in public without the fear of having Child Protective Services show up at our door.  And any rational person can see why some of these laws had to be put into place, but what about the freedom to worship with others in your home, some have had that freedom removed by a local government in the USA.  And we are not referring to extremes like the sacrifice of a goat in the back yard; no we are talking about Christians having a private Bible study in their homes in the great state of California.

I began with; “It could happen to you and to me, and you ask, what could happen?”  The same thing that took place with the early church; “for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:27-30 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice