November 12
Acts 12:6-14:20
A couple of years at the end of a busy call in the hospital, I had already delivered 5 babies over 24 hours, a young 20 year old patient was sent into the emergency room due to a possible ectopic pregnancy in her fallopian tube. This condition is potentially deadly and is among the leading causes of maternal death in the world. We, as physicians, are taught early on to consider every pregnancy as an ectopic so that we never miss one. It occurs at a rate of 1-2% in the United States. This young woman had no risk factors, though her ultrasound which I looked at myself was suspicious, with what appeared to be already blood accumulating in her abdomen. When I examined her, though her ultrasound was suspicious, she had absolutely no suggestion of this entity. I pressed hard on her abdomen and there was absolutely no pain. In 30 years of practicing, I had never witnessed this. What made this worse was the thought of unnecessarily removing the tube of such a young woman, who was Orthodox Jewish, and would desire many children throughout her life. After a bit of deliberation, I brought her immediately to the operating room and classed the case as an emergency. When I went in by laparoscopy I found a tube under tremendous tension, filled with blood, and ready to dangerously rupture. The surgery went well and though she lost her tube, she did well. If that tube had ruptured it could have been catastrophic to this patient. I mention this, because there is a danger when we approach anything in expectation, rather than being open to the unexpected.
Peter is arrested by Herod and imprisoned awaiting his execution. Herod had just killed James, the apostle, and Peter was to be next. We read in Acts 12:6-7, "And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now, behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, "Arise quickly!" And his chains fell off his hands." The angel then escorted Peter out of the prison and on to the streets. First note Peter's condition under these circumstances. He is peacefully sleeping, despite the situation of his impending death. When we get to Acts 16, rather than sending an angel, God sends an earthquake to free Paul and Silas from prison. We have a tendency to limit God to a method, but our God is a God of variety and should never be boxed in and limited. Peter arrives at the house of John Mark, where the believers were gathered to pray for Peter. We read in Acts 12:13-16, "And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. But they said to her, "You are beside yourself!" Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So thy said, "It is his angel." Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished." Though the believers were rightfully praying, they did so without believing that God could actually do what they were praying for. Despite the lack of faith in their praying, God answered their prayers.
Throughout Scripture we come to realize that God has no limitations. Yet so often we place limitations on Him. Jesus healed so many during His ministry, but often did so differently. He healed blindness by speaking, touching, rubbing mud, etc. We can either go through life expecting the natural from a God who works in the supernatural, or we can approach each day looking for the unexpected. We can pray dutifully in a rote and routine manner, or we can approach our God in prayer open to any possibility. We can approach Him in His Word, dutifully, simply reading the next portion of Scripture. Or we can approach His Word open to the fact that He can literally blow us away with a new revelation. We can approach church because we are "doing the right thing", or we can prepare our hearts and see or hear something that we never knew before. Just as my patient would have been endangered if I had chosen not to operate due to her complete lack of symptoms, presenting in an unexpected manner; we, as Christians, do not get all that God is offering us when we approach Him without an open mind, prepared for anything. It is dangerous for our walk to place limitations upon a God who is unlimited. God is great and faithful and willing to alter the course of our lives if only we would be open to His moving in our lives.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: