The Heart

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE HEART

Acts 12:18-25

18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply. 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

NIV

The heart of an evil man will receive his just reward. First, because the guards had no idea that Peter had been rescued by an angel, they had no valid reason for the empty cell. It is sort of like no one had any idea why there was an empty tomb. The heart of this evil, Herod, had those innocent guards executed. Had he stood guard himself, he would not have known why Peter was missing from the cell, but that did not matter; he was angry and took it out on those guards. But that is not the full story, as this evil heart was still at work. When the people of Tyre and Sidon wanted an audience before king Herod of Israel to secure peace because they depended on Isreal for food. When he made his speech, their response was that he spoke like a god, not a man. Then the evil heart responded with pride in self, instead of giving all the credit for his wise words to the Lord God Almighty. This is the lesson that we all must learn well. Jesus told us to learn from him, for he is gentle and humble of heart. Herod did not learn that lesson, as Herod's heart was not gentle nor humble. Because he did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. That sounds like an awful way to die, as worms fed on him as he lay there, after being struck down. Let us learn never to give ourselves any credit for anything, which is contrary to the way of the world. It is natural to want credit for what we do. It is natural to expect others to give us credit in the realm of the world. We earn a better position, a pay increase, and acknowledgment of a job well done. Credit for our efforts started in our schooling, everything we did was graded, earn that "A", and be praised. This is the way within the church. We do not take credit for our good deeds or whatever ministry we are called to. We do not take credit for our education, abilities, talents, skills, or knowledge of the scriptures, or anything, for that matter, as we are supposed to have a gentle and humble heart. We are supposed to overcome pridefulness and replace it with humility. Let us give the Lord all the credit for all we are and all we do, for we are the work of his hands, being who we are, doing what we do because of his divine purpose for our lives. God saw the evil heart of Herod and responded with worms. How does God respond to our hearts?