Monday 11 Dec 2017

December 11: Acts 12:19-24

Key Verse: Acts 12:24
But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.

Devotion:
Herod was one of those people who had been introduced to God's teachings with the people he had to mix with. He knew about the scriptures and had probably heard many of the miracles which had happened. Maybe he even heard about how each prince and king is allowed their position through God's grace; just as we are given our positions in society. But just because we may have been given a superior position to others or a position of power over others, it does not mean we can do what we like through it.

We see many leaders taking more than their fair share of what God has allowed them to have. Each of those leaders is given plenty of warning from God about what will happen if they do not give up their evil ways, yet so few stop to think about who God is and do not give Him the glory. We don't have to look to our leaders to find those faults, we can very often look in our mirrors and see the same faults. We like to think we are in control and we like to exaggerate just how much control we think we have in our lives. But when we step over the mark and proclaim that we are the ones who have done things when God has clearly allowed them for or to us, then we may just have to face His wrath.

Herod was one of the unfortunate men who had to face God's wrath and he faced it just when he was probably thinking he could get that bit more out of life by using what God had allowed in his life. He dressed himself up for the occasion and proceeded to take all the glory for what was happening around him. He must have known all that God had done, and yet the people, through what he was saying, looked up to him as a god. That was the last straw. If we ever think we can take on God, we need to look at these type of events and see just what we actually mean to God if we think we can take Him on – nothing more than worm food! God will always get the glory in the end. Give Him what is due to Him!

Points to Ponder:
How far do you go to get praises?

Are you getting close to stepping on God's toes?