daily java

Daily Java:

About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.) Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. (Acts 12:1-5)

The new church is so excited and things are going well. They are growing like crazy and everybody was happy.

Then the Jewish king, Herod, captured James, one of the three that Jesus was with so much, and has him executed. He did it so easily that he thought next he would go for the leader of the group, Peter. But God let Peter out through a miracle.

James died, but Peter lived. Why?

Why would God allow one of the main apostles to be killed so quickly in the life of the church? The early church was probably less than a year old, maybe a little older and already one of its main leaders, one who had gone with Jesus and seen many things the others didn’t see, is dead. And the church has to do without his leadership.

Why would God take one and spare another? It doesn’t seem logical. He needed his apostles. And besides, James had some experiences as part of the inner three that the others didn’t. It made and it makes no sense.

The quick and easy answer is that God had a good reason. And maybe he did. However, God doesn’t send evil and this was bad.

I think the answer is that sometimes things happen. But when they do, Romans 8:28 says:

We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

That means that even though bad things happen, God is able to use them to perform good things.

I really believe that the death of James was the devil getting in sideways into the kingdom of heaven. James was killed, then Herod captured Peter and Peter would be killed then the other apostles, then the church would be crippled and shut down and the plan of God be stopped.

But it didn’t work that way. James died, but then God said “Enough.” He was in charge, not the devil. And he would not be driven by what the devil had done. He was in control even though bad things happened for no real good reason..

I also think that it showed the early church and the other apostles that something bad could happen and that they could lose someone vital to the movement and still go on. Just because James died, as important as he was, it didn’t mean the church would stop in it tracks.

In 1979, four men who were the entire teaching staff at my seminary in Dallas were all killed in a small plane crash. Evidently, as far as they know, the pilot, who was the director of the school, got disoriented in the fog and tried to land, hitting a small drainage ditch head on. They were all killed instantly.

Why? These were all good men. Two were fathers of young children, all left grieving wives and families. There was no reason. But they died and the school as well as the church of our Lord was hurt by their absence.

Someone says that there was a reason for them to be gone. But I do not believe so. I believe that sometimes things happen, just as in Acts 12. But no matter what happens, the church continues. The devil can hurt us, but he cannot stop us.

The school was hurt, but it regrouped and continued and the effects of that school are still being felt today. All things have worked together for good because we love God.

Things happen for no apparent reason, but God continues. And so does his church.