Friday October 23, 2009 KEEP KNOCKING!
He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, "Peter is standing at the door!" "You're out of your mind," they said. When she insisted, they decided, "It must be his angel." Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally went out and opened the door, they were amazed. Acts 12:13-16 Can you picture this scene in your mind? Peter was arrested and thrown in jail because it was the popular thing to do to the followers of Jesus. Yet, following a prayer meeting on his behalf, an angel appeared and delivered him out of jail. Excited about his release, Peter hurried over to share his joy with his friends. Yet, when the young girl recognized the voice of Peter, she was so overwhelmed with joyous shock that she didn't even open the door, but Peter kept knocking! >From time to time I wonder if God established this ministry or if it was just >a whim I came up with. When no money comes in from outside the Board I think God has taken His hand off. Then He places people in my path who have started ministries and I discover that they too went through times of testing similar to what we are going through. So, I guess He is telling me to simply keep on knocking. Of course, the other side of this story is young Rhoda. She was so excited about an answer to prayer she forgot to receive it. Maybe in our excitement we too have our answer to prayer waiting just beyond the door, but we delay opening it. Well, it's not too late to go and open it One thing we must distinguish about this story in Peter's life is that we need to test our emotions. I don't mean deny them, but test them. In her excitement Rhoda's emotions caused her to almost miss the genuine blessing God had for her. Recently the Lord showed me that victims of abuse often deny their emotions until the Holy Spirit enters in and starts showing them good emotions. Even so, they often shut the door on themselves, shutting out both the emotions of the flesh and the emotions of the Spirit. Jesus said that He came to set the captives free. That means He wants us operating fully in the emotions of the Spirit life. We are free to cry, laugh, and shout - and yes, even leave the door open without fear of leaving someone outside or thinking we are crazy! Have you been knocking at a door and it hasn't opened yet? Well, do like Peter, keep knocking. Father, I thank You for the emotions You gave us. I thank You for stories such as this one that show that in our excitement we often leave the door shut on people who are important to us. Help us Lord, to be free enough in the Spirit to go back and open the door! O. Addison Gethers e-mail address [email protected] [email protected] twitter URL http//:twitter.com/OAddisonGethers Messenger contact window live/msn messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS rs --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
