REFLECTIONS
August 1, 2010
 
 
What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.
Revelation 3:7-8
 
 
Open Door Policy
 
The echo of the prison door slamming rang in his ears. He had been there before only Jack had been with him that time. But this time Pete was alone. His prospects for survival did not seem good. Jim, his companion and friend, had recently been put in the same prison and his sentence had been death.
It wasn’t so long before that Pete’s ears had another echo ringing in them. It was the echo of the standing ovation he received from a crowd of over 3,000. What a high moment that had been for Pete; but how low he felt behind prison doors. Things had gotten tough. The teacher said they would.
But with chains binding him and guards surrounding him Pete tried to make the best of his situation. Meanwhile his friends outside prayed for him, only their prayers seemed to express little hope. His own hope was dampened too, but he found peace in the memories of the past three years. How life-changing those years had been! He recalled the many lessons from the teacher, and all the good times with Jim and Jack.
It was a long wait for the trial, but as the day of it approached something strange happened. While two guards stood at the door and Pete slept soundly between two soldiers, a bright light began to shine and he was awakened by a stranger’s voice. “Quick, get up!” the stranger said. So Pete arose scarcely aware that his chains had been loosed and that the prison door was ajar. He followed the stranger until they reached the gate that secured the city. Inexplicably it opened by itself. Pete walked through it to freedom.
“When God closes a door, He opens another one,” Pete might have thought. And that’s what God does. He has an open door policy. God closes doors in our lives; but when He closes a door, He opens another one just as he did for Pete. It’s a life lesson.
We know Pete better as Peter the apostle, and Jim and Jack as the brothers, James and John. Together they had formed Jesus’ inner circle. In this story taken from Acts 12, God revealed to Peter how He works in our lives. He closes doors that can’t be opened; but God opens doors that can’t be closed.
God has an open door policy. He opened one for Peter.
And He opens them for you and me.
 
“You are the light of the world.”
RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org.


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