Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Opening Scripture

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:5-9

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, You are holy and worthy of praise. You are my Father, and I walk humbly in Your love. You are my Shepherd, who guides and protects me. I make myself available to You to accomplish Your will in me. I surrender every attitude, thought, and action to You. You are my Provider, and I trust You to meet my needs. Forgive me when I disappoint You and fall short. Help me to forgive others, that I might reflect Your forgiveness. Show me my sin, so I can confess it to You. Don’t let my feet stray from the path of righteousness. Protect me from Satan’s temptations, lies, and deceptions. Strengthen my faith and trust in You alone. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Acts 12

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

Reflection  

In today’s passage, Luke introduces Herod Agrippa I. If the apostles in Jerusalem had remained relatively unharmed by the persecution that erupted after Stephen’s death, that quickly changed when this Herod began to reign over Judea. That the “ecclesia” and its leaders could be easily identified and arrested, indicates a measure of structure and organization in the church by this time.

Agrippa was a Rome-appointed ruler from the “Herod dynasty.” He was the grandson of Herod the Great, who was “king of the Jews” when Jesus was born and who tried to have the baby Jesus killed. Agrippa’s father, Aristobulus, was murdered by Herod the Great out of fear that he might take the throne. The child Agrippa was sent to Rome and was raised with the aristocracy there.

Growing up, Agrippa cultivated friendships with future emperors Caligula and Claudius, which secured him this position. As an agent of Rome, his primary responsibility was to keep the peace. To appease the Jewish leaders, he made the apostles his prime targets. King Agrippa had “Son of Thunder” James killed, then put Peter in prison to await execution. He would wait to deal with Peter after the Passover celebration, so as not to desecrate the festival.

Peter was placed under an unusually heavy guard, perhaps because the Sanhedrin had told Agrippa what happened with the apostle’s previous escapes. Of course, even that was no challenge for Almighty God. While the Church could not keep Peter from being arrested, they could pray for him. God waited until the “eleventh hour” before freeing Peter from maximum security “death row.” The fact that Peter was sound asleep when the angel arrived, indicates his calm assurance that God was in control. In the end, it was the guards who lost their lives.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

Today’s passage provides a good reminder about the fleeting nature of earthly power. It also offers a word of caution to anyone who believes that “all was lost” or “all was saved” in the recent elections. Politics has its place, but God is ultimately in control. As we see throughout Scripture, He not only has the power to establish or remove individuals, Almighty God establishes and removes entire empires!

As followers of King Jesus, God wants us to pray for our earthly leaders, regardless of their office or political affiliation. Paul instructed Timothy to teach his congregation in Ephesus to pray for the salvation of their civic leaders, which at that time included the notorious Emperor Nero.

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:2).

A position of leadership is both opportunity and responsibility. While elected officials are certainly responsible to their constituents, more importantly, they are accountable to God. We need to pray that those in authority will trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord, and serve well in their positions.

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48).

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

King Herod Agrippa I was entrusted with significant leadership, but he became proud and self-absorbed. He suffered the consequences of his arrogance, “but the word of God continued to spread and flourish.”

What responsibility has God entrusted to you?

This week’s collective prayer: Lord, deepen my love for all people. Amen.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!