Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: Acts 2: 36-38 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Insight: We are beginning a new blog method this week of using questions to fuel our eagerness and curiosity to dive deeper into God’s word to find answers for big life issues. Many of the questions we wrestle with today are the same ones that believers and hearers of God’s word have struggled with since the Gospel has been preached. When confronted with the penetrating words of the Living God, which can cut right through our hearts, the only way there is to rightly respond is to ask “What shall we do?” as the people who had listened to Peter’s compelling testimony in Acts 2:38 did. Peter had so confronted them about their misconceptions about who Jesus was and what He had come to earth to accomplish that he had completely rocked their equilibrium. But the truth is, the same question still applies to all believers today when they first encounter the power of the Risen Lord: What shall we do? This is a highly individualized question that each of us must answer in our own way and in our own time. How will we respond to what Jesus has done for us? Peter answers for us in the corporate sense that pertains to all of us: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. But each of us in their own way must figure out how we are going to respond to the fact that Jesus paid our sin tab in full on the Cross so that we can have eternal life. For some, it might mean global mission work or going into ministry. For others, it might be serving your community locally as a volunteer or a civil servant. Some might just focus on being the best parent, or spouse or employee that they can be. But make no mistake, if we have truly encountered Jesus Christ and experienced his mercy, grace, love and forgiveness, then we are all going to grapple with the answer to the question of “what shall we do?” Spend some time inviting Jesus into this question in a way that allows Him space to lead you in your heart and soul to a resolution that brings peace and energy, so you can find the bigger purpose, the bigger “why” of your days in response to what He has done for you.
Prayer: Father God, what You did in sending Jesus to this earth to reconcile us back to You through His love that has no limits, and His grace that runs deeper than we can ever imagine, leaves us stunned and not sure how to respond. Help us to contemplate in our own hearts and souls the question of “what shall we do,” in light of what You have already done for us through Christ Jesus. Amen!
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