TUESDAY June 13, 2023
Miraculous Escape
Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.
Acts 12:18-19
Daybreak came, and all the soldiers responsible for keeping watch over Peter were frantically searching for him. Bewildered, they wondered to themselves, What happened to Peter? Obviously he had escaped––he was nowhere to be found. Why were these men so frantic about finding Peter? Well, if you were a Roman soldier, and your prisoner escaped, then your life was forfeited. Herod as king took the matter in hand. The soldiers’ failure would not be tolerated. He gave the command––instant death.
From there, Herod went down from Judea and went to Caesarea. It is the most beautiful place in the Mediterranean that you will ever see in your life. This is where the Apostle Paul spent two years in prison for the sake of the Gospel.
Peter’s miraculous escape reminds me of when I went to China in 1982, with Mike Macintosh and some other believers from San Diego. Our mission was to take Bibles into a communist country, which was against the law.
We arrived in Hong Kong and had to go to a class orientation. We met secretly, as handing out Bibles in China was a crime. We were given our destination and handed a suitcase with all Bibles! When we landed in China, we were sent to a small room to complete customs. If you got caught with Bibles, you were sent back home, and the Bibles would be confiscated. A Chinese national who brought Bibles into the country, if caught, would go to prison.
The customs officers opened up our suitcases. Believe it or not, their eyes were blinded! We took twenty suitcases of Bibles behind the Iron Curtain, passing through the Red Chinese Army! We made our delivery.
You are the God who performs miracles; You display your power among the peoples.
~Psalm 77:14 NIV~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
