Devotional Guide, Today’s Reading – Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Theme: THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING IN THE SERVICE OF GOD

Text: “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.” – Acts 5:29, 33.

Comment: It was not until after Christ had finished His earthly work and ascended to heaven, that full understanding came to the apostles, by God’s grace. Then, charged with the holy spirit, they boldly confronted challenges and were not afraid to be martyred. Saint Peter, who had denied Jesus Christ after his arrest (Matthew 26:34-36, 69-75), waxed valiant when he contended for the faith, even at the point of death. – Acts 5:29. See also John 15:26,27; 16:13.

The ancient worthies by their faith and understanding, had lived exemplary lifestyles that foreshadowed the New Testament account of the empowerment of the apostles by God through the Holy Spirit. The trio of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, defied an ungodly command, even expressing a readiness to take whatever was coming in the event that God would not deliver them. – Daniel 3:16-19.

Out of envy for the favour of God on him, Daniel’s co-Presidents, tricked the King into signing a decree to regulate prayers, knowing that Daniel would never give up on his faith. In the end he was vindicated when the king declared: “I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, … He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions…” – Daniel 6:26-28.