Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Acts 3:12-26
Set – Nehemiah 12; Psalms 1; Acts 3
Go! – Nehemiah 11-12; Psalms 1; Acts 3
Acts 3:12-26
Peter (to the crowd): 12 Why are you so amazed, my fellow Israelites? Why are you staring at my friend and me as though we did this miracle through our own power or made this fellow walk by our own holiness? 13 We didn’t do this—God did! The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob—the God of our ancestors has glorified Jesus, God’s servant—the same Jesus whom you betrayed and rejected in front of Pilate, even though Pilate was going to release Him. 14 He is the Holy and Righteous One, but you rejected Him and asked for a murderer to be released to you instead. 15 You not only rejected Him, but you killed Him—the very Author of life! But God raised Jesus from the dead, whom my friend John and I have seen with our own eyes. 16 So that’s how this miracle happened: we have faith in the name of Jesus, and He is the power that made this man strong—this man who is known to all of you. It is faith in Jesus that has given this man his complete health here today, in front of all of you.
17 Listen, friends, I know you didn’t fully realize what you were doing when you rejected and betrayed Jesus. I know that you, and your rulers as well, were acting in ignorance. 18 God was at work in all this, fulfilling what He had predicted through all the prophets—that the Anointed One would suffer. 19 So now you need to rethink everything and turn to God so your sins will be forgiven and a new day can dawn, days of refreshing times flowing from the Lord. 20 Then God may send Jesus the Anointed, whom God has chosen for you. 21 He is in heaven now and must remain there until the day of universal restoration comes—the restoration which in ancient times God announced through the holy prophets. 22 Moses, for example, said, “The Eternal One your God will raise up from among your people a prophet who will be like me. You must listen to Him. 23 And whoever does not listen to His words will be completely uprooted from among the people.”
24 Every prophet, from Samuel through all of his successors, agreed. 25 You are the descendants of these prophets, and you are the people of God’s covenant to your ancestors. God’s word to Abraham includes you: “Because of your descendants, all the families of the earth will be blessed.” 26 So when God raised up His Servant, God sent Him first to you, to begin blessing you by calling you to change your path from evil ways to God’s ways.
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
Did you hear Peter’s words? It’s time to rethink everything. My word tells you who I am and what I want from you. It shows you by example how I lived alongside you. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted you to follow their rules and traditions. They thought that by strict adherence to a list of laws they could make peace with Me. They could not. The laws only point out humankind’s inability to meet the standard of holiness I require of you without My Spirit living in and guiding your actions each moment of every day.
So if you can’t live the holy life I call you to live through the law, then it’s time to rethink what My command for you entails. My son answered a scholar’s question one day that puts it all in perspective. Love each other. All the New Testament writers echoed the same words. Love each other. You see, it’s love I want you to demonstrate to the world. You don’t need a list of rules and regulations. Just love. All those rules will fall into place when you love.
When you love Me with all your heart, soul, and strength; and you love your neighbor like you love yourself, you won’t kill, steal, lie, cheat, covet, have illicit sex, or do anything that would damage your neighbor. You won’t do anything that will harm your relationship with Me if you love Me. That’s what love does. So just love. Rethink your religious activities. I’m not interested in religion. I’m interested in righteousness and that means loving each other with the kind of love I demonstrated from the time of creation, through My death on the cross, until now. Rethink what I really want. Love.
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