Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Dear Friend,

If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Today's Passage : Today's Passage:The Apostles Arrested Again

Bible Verse:Acts 5:17-21

"But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. "

Message: There were two great political/religious parties in Judea, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were much like the early Hebrews, emphasizing ritual (such as sacrifice); they were centered in Jerusalem. The priests tended to be Sadducees. The equally powerful Pharisees put more emphasis on God’s word and theology (similar to modern-day Judaism) and were more dispersed throughout Judea. Their leaders were more like “rabbis.” Both groups were represented in the Sanhedrin (like Republicans and Democrats in the Congress), and both wanted to kill Jesus and his followers. (One might say there was a third political party, the Herodians, who were basically Roman collaborators and were hardly “Jewish” at all; they did not seem to play much part in the Sanhedrin and, unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees, were not secretly hoping for the end Roman occupation and rule.) The Sadducees got to Peter and his followers first. They arrested them and put them in prison; presumably, they intended to try them and execute them. But, unlike Christ, the apostles are not intended to be God’s sacrifice; they are intended to go into the world and preach. But their story is still parallel to Christ’s. The authorities had them arrested, as they had arrested Christ. And as with Christ, God steps in to show that the world has no real power over them. They are “reborn” in a sense, because they defeat the prison of sin and go free.