Interesting question for you today, Pastor John, on how to read Providence in Acts 12,

which we encounter together tomorrow in our Bible reading.

The question comes from an anonymous listener to the podcast who writes this.

Pastor John, hello, and thank you for the continued encouragement I receive for my soul through Ask Pastor John.

I have a Bible question for you today because I admit that I have a hard time reading and

understanding Providence in Acts 12. There we are given a long and detailed account of the

divine intervention that came to Peter's rescue to save his life in Acts 12, verses 6 to 11.

But just above this dramatic and detailed deliverance in the same chapter,

we're told that James, matter-of-factly, was murdered by the king's sword.

That's in Acts 12 versus 1 and 2.

What are we to make of the differences here in level of protection and in how elaborately or not each story is told? Why the difference?

And what lessons do we learn about reading Providence in the lives of each follower of Christ?

Well, I'm tempted to say, don't read Providence, read the Bible.

Yes, right.

But that's not fair.

That's an inadequate response to the question, because on the one hand, while it's true

that most of God's providential acts in the world do not communicate

all of his thousands of particular designs in that providence, there are circumstances in this

world that providence has designed in such a way that we ought to be understanding what they

mean. Jesus got very upset that people in

his day could, quote, read the weather, but couldn't read the signs of the times, Matthew 16, 3.

On the other hand, to say that we should read our Bibles does not make matters completely simple,

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