Acts 4:8-12 NLT
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
”Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel…”
Our message to others should be clear and above all else Spirit-filled.
Our testimony, the before and after picture, will be the essential message of the Gospel to those around us.
The first thing that should be clear is that because of our relationship with Jesus Christ; our life is vastly different now than it was before Jesus inserted Himself into our lives.
James 3:13 NLT
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.
Jesus changes everything!
With a growing relationship with Jesus, there should be a consistent change in our lives.
Sanctification is an upward spiral of faith in Jesus Christ that requires a higher level of submission to the Will of God with every passing minute.
2 Peter 1:3-9 NLT
By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
If we find ourselves stalled here, it may be that we feel that we have arrived, that we know all the answers. This is a very prideful place to be and needs to be laid down at the feet of the Lord.
Any prideful thinking on our part is putting us in direct opposition to God.
1 Peter 5:5-7 NLT
In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Don’t be fooled by the word ”younger” in this verse; it doesn’t matter if we happen to be Bible scholars. If we are breathing oxygen by God’s grace, we are ”young.” We will not arrive until one of two things happens, Jesus arrives to take us home, or He takes us from this life to be with Him.
But look at the promise, ”So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor.”
If that doesn’t give you butterflies in your stomach, I don’t know what will.
The next key here is that ”There is salvation in no one else.” Period.
John 14:6-7 NLT
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
If you are anything like me, I tried everything under the sun to make my life right; I was a self-help guy until my life crumbled around me.
It wasn’t until I laid my life before Jesus Christ and submitted my will that any discernable change started to happen in my life.
I can take no credit for this; Jesus was faithful to open my eyes to His life-changing Word. And that changed everything.
Like the beggar that Peter and John healed at the Beautiful Gate, through the grace of God, He had me right where He wanted, and that was when I had no other choice but to call on the only name that can make an eternal change, the name of Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, I pray that You continue to work in my heart, that Your Word penetrates the strongholds of sin that I may not see or be unwilling to lay down at Your feet.
Let my life be a shining example of the change possible with You in a submitted and humble heart.
I pray for the souls of all the people in my life, and I pray when they see me, they see Your work in my life, and it softens their heart to the point of wanting to know You and develop their relationship with You.
Use my life to bring the Good News about You to the world around me by my attitude and words but, more importantly, by my actions, knowing that I need to plant the seed and help with the watering and that You are responsible for the results.
In the loving name of Jesus Christ, the Name above all names, Amen!! 🙏🏻❤️
