Passage of the Day:
While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, 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? 13 The 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. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By 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 completely healed him, as you can all see. 17 “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, Acts 3:11-19.
Reflection:
Sometimes in life, God will give you the power to do amazing things, beyond your wildest dreams. Today’s passage occurs after Jesus’ ascension into heaven and following the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. While this region of the world regularly witnessed Jesus performed miracles for 3 years, seeing the disciple who publicly denied knowing Jesus 3 times was shocking. Yet, these individuals were not present when Peter repented, and Jesus restored him in John 21:15-19. Subsequently, Peter is a living example of how repentance should be followed by acts of contrition.
Prayerful Action:
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit, John 3:3-6.
Retracing Your Steps:
The apostle Paul illustrates that no one can perfectly following the religious expectations of the Old Testament in Romans 3:9-12. This spiritual dilemma is what brings the Pharisee Nicodemus to meet with Jesus late one night. Confession is simply admitting that you’ve made a mistake. However, repentance is recognizing that you yourself can’t change unless you make a spiritual U-turn back towards God. According to Jesus, repentance is a form of becoming born again. Daily repentance gives birth to the Spirit of God which prompts Christians to be led to perform acts of contrition, Galatians 5:25. As faith is conceived, daily deeds in the form of actions follow.
Song of the Day:
Britt Nicole sings about how the spiritual flame deep inside of Christians has a tendency to die out. Daily repentance is one of the ways I keep this fire going so that acts of contrition are inspired by the Holy Spirit as I go about my days on earth.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 