Category: Uncategorized

Acts 4:13

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Personal Challenge

What a wonderful compliment this is to Peter and John. By living their lives in boldness and letting Jesus and the Holy Spirit be manifested in their lives, it was obvious that Peter and John had been with Jesus. Is that something that can be said about our lives…my life? Is it evident by what we say and do, and often times not say or not do, that we are followers of Jesus Christ? If we want people to marvel at who we are and what we do, then this can only be from living lives that magnify Jesus and not us. Glory be to God!

Acts 3:19

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Command with a Promise

Have you ever wanted to be refreshed and then stay in a state of constant refreshment? It is possible. True refreshment, eternal refreshment, is found in our Lord. We get to that place in our relationship with Him through repentance and conversion away from being committed to this world. When we repent, which is an ongoing process, and turn to Him, He will blot out our sins and bring us into times of refreshing in His presence This is a promise that we can depend on. Glory be to God!

Acts 3:16

And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Personal Challenge

Peter had just healed a lame man and the crowd was going crazy with excitement. In essence, this was the same crowd who several weeks before had yelled, “crucify Him!” about Jesus. Peter preaches to these people that the healing was not done by them, but by Jesus and the faith that was put in Him. It is Jesus who is our healer. It is Jesus who is our savior. We become whole again through our faith in Jesus and that faith itself comes from Him. This is a mystery that we can all participate in. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Acts 2:38

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Personal Challenge

This passage comes at the end of Peter’s great witness delivered to the throngs in Jerusalem. People were so moved by his discourse about who Jesus was and what He had done that they were begging to be His followers. Peter made it very simple. Repent! Turn away from our sinful lives asking for God’s forgiveness and pursue a life that is in alignment with the life of Jesus. Be baptized! Participate in the sacrament of baptism where we are put to death to the world in Christ, buried in His waters of purification, and raised into His service with our sins forgiven. Receive the Holy Spirit! Be anointed with the gift of the Holy Spirit so that our lives can be directed by Him into holiness and righteousness. This is the beginning of a journey that will take us through eternity transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Acts 1:9-11

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Encouraging Words

I am quite sure that the apostles’ minds and hearts were spinning when this event happened. They had just finished three very full years with our Lord. They had seen Him do miracles, die on the cross, be resurrected, and now ascend into heaven. Even after all of this, the angels were there to tell them to not loose heart because Jesus would be coming again. They lived out the remainder of their lives proclaiming this truth and the hope for everyone of us. We will see Jesus again. He will come again and take us to our heavenly home. This is our hope that drives us through every day and every trial. Glory be to God!

John 21:7

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

Personal Challenge

Is Jesus so important to me that when He shows up in my life that I drop everything and run to be with Him? Peter was informed that his resurrected Lord was standing on the beach calling out to them. He immediately jump into the sea and headed to the beach to be with His Lord. Do we do this? Do I do this? Jesus does show up in our lives. It might be in the form of a fellow human in need. It might be in the opportunity to serve Him. It might be in the need to offer someone a kind word, a cup of water, or a morsel of food. He wants us to drop everything and meet Him there. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

John 20:29

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Encouraging Words

Faith is a very important part of every human’s life. We all have faith in something. Sometimes we have had tangible evidence to support that faith, but most of the time that faith is in something unseen and often unprovable to the doubter. Thomas put his faith in the resurrected Jesus only after he was able to touch Jesus and validate His return to life did he believe. Jesus, however, proclaimed His blessing on all of us who put our faith in Him because we have not seen Him and yet have believed. Glory be to God!

John 20:25

The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.