I’m not totally surprised that we had another snow day – we slid around quite a bit just getting home from church yesterday morning! Thank You, Father, for Your protection and for the opportunity to get a little further ahead on some things.
Acts 4:1-7 (<<click here to read the passage)
I believe I’ve mentioned before that my family’s background is pretty conservative, specifically from a religious perspective. One thing in particular that we didn’t even have in the house when I was growing up, was playing cards – you know the ones with diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs. In the denomination I grew up in, they were strongly associated with gambling and that was a major taboo!
It was funny when I started dating Karen, her family had no such taboos, and she was a pretty good euchre player (her dad was very good). I came to find out that euchre was pretty much the same as a card game we did play, called Rook. Over time, that mindset has changed.
The reason I bring it up is when reading through today’s passage, and the accompanying notes in my Life Application Study Bible, I got to thinking of how Peter and John found themselves in a situation where the deck was stacked against them.
According to Merriam-Webster, the idiom “cards are stacked against (someone)” is used to describe a situation in which one person or group is disadvantaged or faces difficult circumstances as compared to others often in a way that is unfair.
Peter and John found themselves standing against the same stacked deck that had condemned Jesus to death, leading to his crucifixion! The rulers, elders, and teachers of the law made up the high council… It had 70 members plus the current high priest, who presided over the group. The Sadducees held a majority in this ruling group. These were the wealthy, intellectual, and powerful men of Jerusalem.
The deck being stacked, in reality, is nothing more than a human notion. Factor God into the equation and the deck is simply a house of cards waiting to be blown down!
The Holy Spirit was a part of who Peter and John were and because of that, the “power” the high council thought that had over them equaled absolutely zilch! You would think that Peter and John would have been fearful…that they would have gone into defensive mode when brought before them. But, nope, it set the stage for another powerful sermon from Peter. God was on the move, and nothing was going to stop Him! The house of cards would soon fall!
Jan 24th, 2022, Mon, 3:25 pm
