Peter’s Miraculous Escape
from Prison |
Acts 12:1-18What
an interesting story! In
many ways it doesn’t seem to
fit in this historical
narrative. At the end of
Chapter 11 we have this
wonderful account of the
church at Antioch and the
ministry of Barnabas and
Saul. But then there it is
in the first part of Chapter
12, interrupting this
wonderful story of things
going well. All of a sudden,
James is dead and Peter’s in
prison, awaiting trial after
the Passover. Things look
bleak, but then an angel
shows up to lead a
bewildered Peter out of
prison to safety. Peter goes
to the house of Mary where
his friends are gathered to
pray for his release, and he
spends quite a bit of time
knocking at the door before
they let him in, astonished.
You know the story. It’s
incredible.
Have you ever wondered
why the Spirit of God wanted
the church, in all
generations to come, to know
this story? It seems to be
plunked down in the middle
of the ongoing narrative.
Why does Luke tell it?
Perhaps Luke wanted to
illustrate just how serious,
how frightening a life of
faith can be from day to
day; how dangerous it can be
for people in certain times
and places to say, “I follow
Christ.” For when you align
yourself with the name and
person of Jesus Christ,
there is always the
possibility of suffering. In
part, this is a story about
suffering.
Maybe Luke also wanted to
show how the church operates
when it’s running “on all
cylinders”—with extreme
faith. Or maybe Luke wanted
his readers to understand
something about evil
governments that choose to
persecute followers of the
Way.
Maybe, and here is one
more possibility, Luke
wanted readers to be
encouraged when they find
themselves, like Peter, in a
place of extreme
helplessness. For each of us
there are moments in life
when we find ourselves the
victims of circumstances
beyond our control. It’s in
those moments we wonder,
What’s happening? What do I
do? Who cares, and who can
help?
Have you ever been in
that place? I know I have. I
can point to times when I
felt as though there was
nothing I could do to change
my circumstances. You know
what it’s like—you max out
your brains, your money,
your connections, and it all
comes to naught. You’re
stuck right where you were
to start with. I think
that’s what this story is
about.
On the heels of James’
execution, Herod arrests
Peter and puts him in
prison. You get the feeling
that Herod—who is the third
generation of Herods out to
persecute followers of
Christ—is determined to kill
off all the leaders of the
church in order to please
the Jews and buy himself
security and popularity.
It’s a brutal time!
In the fourth verse of
Chapter 12 we see what
visible power does when it
wants to be in control. But
v. 5 five talks about the
invisible power of prayer as
“the church was earnestly
praying to God for him
[Peter].”
In the U.S. people make
their power visible by
arriving at events in luxury
cars and stepping onto the
red carpet with an entourage
of stoic men meant to keep
the crowds of less powerful
people at bay. Power is
illustrated by wearing the
right labels and consorting
with the right people. As a
nation we send aircraft
carriers and visible
weaponry into a region of
the world and sit just off
shore, making sure our
powerful presence is felt.
In moments of
desperation, what does the
church trot out and use to
demonstrate power?
Well-crafted and designed
programs? Oratorical
abilities? Budgets and
special offerings?
Administrative structures
and business expertise?
Impressive portfolios?
Worship teams that create
moments of lofty
inspiration?
The church in Acts went
to its knees in prayer at
this moment of desperation
and helplessness. Jesus is
serious when he speaks out
against a temple system that
had grown corrupt in its
religious structure. He
declares, “My house shall be
called a house of prayer.” I
do not care how impressive a
church or mission may appear
when all of its programs and
resources are on display; if
you pull prayer out from
underneath it all, you don’t
have much left.
Peter was in prison—a
place of extreme
helplessness—but the church
was “earnestly praying to
God for him.” Invisible
power! It’s clear in this
passage that the church is
doing what it’s used to
doing. Prayer isn’t an
afterthought; it’s the first
impulse. Luke, under the
direction of the Holy
Spirit, tells us this story
about a church doing the
only thing it can
effectively do in a moment
of extreme
helplessness—earnestly pray.
Honest, no-holds-barred
prayer. It seems to me like
this is the best and only
place to turn when
everything is falling apart.
Are you in a place of
“extreme helplessness”? Are
you in a situation where you
just don’t know where to
turn? You feel like you’ve
done everything you can do
but still there’s no relief
in sight. I encourage you to
reread this account and
consider why the story is
there. Consider Peter’s
position. Consider the
church’s response. Maybe,
just maybe, the Holy Spirit
will have something to say
to you in those moments. I
pray you will receive His
peace.
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The
Three Signs of a Miserable
Job
by Patrick Lencioni | 2007
Jossey-Bass
Reviewed by David Korb
If you’ve read and
enjoyed previous books by
Lencioni such as Death by
Meeting or The Five
Dysfunctions of a Team,
this book will not
disappoint. Lencioni’s
writing style remains the
same here as he spins A
Fable for Managers (and
their employees).
The genesis of this book
was Lencioni’s realization
that most people in the
workforce do not enjoy their
jobs; in fact, they are
miserable. He notes that it
doesn’t seem to make any
difference if the person is
a professional athlete, a
CEO, a waitress, or a
teacher. Income doesn’t seem
to influence the bottom line
of job satisfaction either.
Taking into consideration
his own experience and his
observations of others,
Lencioni set out to form a
theory about why so many
people are miserable in
their jobs, and what it
takes to go from job misery
to job fulfillment.
Lencioni warns readers in
the introduction—and rightly
so—that “the remedy I
propose here is going to
seem ridiculously simple and
obvious at first glance.” He
contends that the book is
necessary, however, because
the bulk of managers fail to
put these simple, obvious
ideas into practice, and as
a result workers continue to
suffer through miserable
jobs which breed
frustration, cynicism, and
fatigue.
Lencioni illustrates his
theory by telling a story,
or fable, about how retired
CEO Brian Bailey discovers
the three signs of a
miserable job. Lencioni
explains, “A miserable job
is not the same as a bad
one. A bad job lies in the
eye of the beholder. One
person’s dream job might be
another person’s nightmare.
But a miserable job is
universal. It is one that
makes a person cynical and
frustrated and demoralized
when they go home at night.
It drains them of their
energy, their enthusiasm and
their self-esteem. Miserable
jobs can be found in every
industry and at every
level.”
Through the tale of Brian
Bailey, the author
identifies three factors
that make a job miserable.
The first is “immeasurement”
(yes, a term coined by
Lencioni). “Employees need
to be able to gauge their
progress and level of
contribution for
themselves.” Employees
become frustrated if they do
not have a sense that they
are making progress. The
second is irrelevance.
“Everyone needs to know that
their job matters. …Without
seeing a connection between
the work and the
satisfaction of another
person or group of people,
an employee simply will not
find lasting fulfillment.”
And finally, the third sign
of a miserable job is
anonymity. “People
cannot be fulfilled in their
work if they are not known.”
Bailey muses to his wife,
“How can a person really
feel good about going to
work when they don’t feel
like anyone there knows who
they are? Or cares?”
Whether you are a manager
or an employee, I think this
book is worth your time. I
picked up this title at the
airport knowing I was facing
a long delay. My wife Ingrid
was with me and was
intrigued by the title. She
started to read and did not
put the book down until she
reached the last page just
as we hit the runway at
O’Hare. Furthermore, she
went to school the next day
and told her fellow teachers
that this is a must read! If
my wife responds this way to
a business book, I suspect
that you, too, will find it
a worthwhile read. For more
about this book and related
resources, visit
the book’s page on
Lencioni’s website.
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