12When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
17"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ[a] would suffer. 19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.'[b]
24"Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. 25And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.'[c] 26When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
Acts 4
Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin
1The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducee came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
Peter took this opportunity to witness to these onlookers. He capitalized on it. He told who Jesus was, how the Jews had rejected him, why their rejection was fatal, and what they needed to do to change their situation. Displays of God's mercy often create teachable moments. We should pray to have opportunities like this to speak up for Christ. It was possible that some of these very same people had screamed for Barabbas to be released so that Jesus could be crucified. The religious leaders had been shaken by Peter's message in which he also stated that the religious leaders had killed Jesus, God brought him back to life, and the apostles were witnesses to this fact. Peter showed God's triumph and power over death. Peter gave all glory to God for the healing of the crippled man. When we pray in Jesus name, we must remember that it is Christ himself who puts the power in our prayers. The apostles preached repentance. Many people want the benefits of God without turning away form their sin. God will bring you "spiritual refreshment" if you will repent. It will hurt in the beginning, but God will give you a way out. He will remove all sin from the world at his second coming. The Sadducees arrested Peter and John for preaching the resurrection, because it did not line up with their beliefs. This goes to show that we will run risks when trying to win others to Christ.That night in jail for Peter and John resulted in 5000 souls being won to Christ. Are we willing to suffer to save just one soul? Whatever the risk, remember that nothing done for God is ever wasted.
God made us specifically to serve him. We were each uniquely made to do certain things. He created us before birth for a role that he wanted us to play on earth. Every day of life is recorded in his book beforehand and he uses us to perform a certain ministry. He always equips us for this ministry also. He gives all of his believers spiritual gifts that are to be used to serve the body of Christ. You must be a believer to to receive these gifts. He has divided out these gifts to us. You do not get to choose your gift though. The Holy Spirit alone makes this decision. Nobody receives all the gifts because they wouldn't need anybody else to be complete. We are to love and depend on other believers. We receive gifts, not for our benefit, but for the benefit of others. We must be happy with what He gives us, and we can't expect everyone to share our passion for our gift. There are many different levels of service in the church. Your gifts reveal one clue to discovering God's will for your ministry.
Another aspect that we must realize is that God gives us desires, hopes, ambitions, and dreams that are exclusive to us. It determines why we say what we say, why we feel the way we do, and why we act the way we do. A clue to serving is knowing what you have a passion for and what you don't. God has a purpose for you loving the things you do. He wants us to serve him out of passion, not out of duty. When you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, you will serve God from your heart. You will be easily discouraged if this is not the case. Another key is that you will get good at what you are doing because God wired you that way. Don't waste your life in a job that doesn't express your passion. You can have a lot to live on and nothing to live for. Figure out what God gave you a heart to do and then do it for his glory. God works through different people in different ways, but he alone achieves his intent through all of them. In what way can you passionately serve others and love what you are doing?
Dear Heavenly Father, it is amazing how you can move so quickly when it your will to do so. I thank you for another answered prayer today. Thank you for all the blessings that you have afforded to me. I pray that you watch over my family and give to them the protection and the attitude to serve you today. I also pray the same things for my friends. Lord I will once again ask you for more opportunities to win souls for you as you gave to Peter and John with the crippled man. I know that you will, but I also ask you to touch my heart so that I will recognize these opportunities. I thank you for the spiritual gifts that you so graciously provided me and I pray that I use them to your glory. Help me to remember that I should not be jealous of anyone Else's gift but should join in with them to better your kingdom. I just want to depend on you because you are the one who will get us through anything as long as you are our focus and direction in our lives. Please forgive me where I fail you with my sinful ways. In Jesus' name I pray....amen
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