Today Our New Year's Eve Daily Bread Acts 3***** & John 1:14

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena's Journalin' , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.

Acts 3:1-26
1One day at three o'clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were on their way into the Temple for prayer meeting. 2At the same time there was a man crippled from birth being carried up. Every day he was set down at the Temple gate, the one named Beautiful, to beg from those going into the Temple. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple, he asked for a handout. 4Peter, with John at his side, looked him straight in the eye and said, "Look here." 5He looked up, expecting to get something from them.
6Peter said, "I don't have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!" 7He grabbed him by the right hand and pulled him up. In an instant his feet and ankles became firm. 8He jumped to his feet and walked.The man went into the Temple with them, walking back and forth, dancing and praising God. 9Everybody there saw him walking around and praising God. 10They recognized him as the one who sat begging at the Temple's Gate Beautiful and rubbed their eyes, astonished, scarcely believing what they were seeing.
11The man threw his arms around Peter and John, ecstatic. All the people ran up to where they were at Solomon's Porch to see it for themselves.
Turn to Face God
12When Peter saw he had a congregation, he addressed the people:"Oh, Israelites, why does this take you by such complete surprise, and why stare at us as if our power or piety made him walk? 13The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his Son Jesus. The very One that Pilate called innocent, you repudiated. 14You repudiated the Holy One, the Just One, and asked for a murderer in his place. 15You no sooner killed the Author of Life than God raised him from the dead--and we're the witnesses. 16Faith in Jesus' name put this man, whose condition you know so well, on his feet--yes, faith and nothing but faith put this man healed and whole right before your eyes.
17"And now, friends, I know you had no idea what you were doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders. 18But God, who through the preaching of all the prophets had said all along that his Messiah would be killed, knew exactly what you were doing and used it to fulfill his plans.
19"Now it's time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, 20and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. 21For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be. 22Moses, for instance, said, "Your God will raise up for you a prophet just like me from your family. Listen to every word he speaks to you. 23Every last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet will be wiped out from the people.'
24"All the prophets from Samuel on down said the same thing, said most emphatically that these days would come. 25These prophets, along with the covenant God made with your ancestors, are your family tree. God's covenant-word to Abraham provides the text: "By your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.' 26But you are first in line: God, having raised up his Son, sent him to bless you as you turn, one by one, from your evil ways."
~Lena’s Journalin’~
Good New Year’s Eve morning to you!
As I read this today I felt the responses or reactions of the people Peter is preaching to. Tthere was a crowd, a congregation there that day, and as each one of us reads this today we are a part of that congregation also.
Hebrews 13 says, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. Remember Jesus is the Word of God that became flesh like us to show us a few Godly things about being here on earth. Peter points out how the message even Jesus preached was preempted by many other prophets of many other ages and time periods. Even today these same words can and will be confirmed in our own hearts.
One thing that stands out to me is where Peter is telling all of the crowds there that they were the ones who crucified Jesus! They may have felt puzzled at that. Some of them may not have even witnessed it. He also speaks to them/us about our sins.
Most people in the present day USA do not like to be “accused” of anything, let alone be told outright that they’ve made mistakes (sin) or that they are “guilty” of anything, especially murder, wouldn’t you think? Yet Peter knowing human nature and even the nature he himself lives with everyday in himself, boldly accuses us of such acts. Peter had a point to make and shaking people to their inner core can at times help them see a truth that needs to be uncovered for them. Man has to acknowledge his need for God.
Peter was saying that day, that the only thing worth having that day and this day is truth that comes from our Creator God. He could have collected an offering for the blind man, he could have gone home and scrounged up some natural money or some dough or something, but more useful than anything else would be for the man to experience the power and anointing of God. In that the man would find himself, find out what it is he himself has to give the world.
Conviction of sin is the only thing that will lead man to change. If man is comfy cozy as he is, not at all agitated with what is or what appears, he’ll just stay the same, never coming to know he needs a Savior ,that he has to have change, that he needs redeeming from Adam’s original sin and it’s continued lifelong curse. If man does not know this and in turn acknowledge that the price of his sin has been paid for them by Jesus.. If he does not get this, he’ll die after he lives out this earth life, he’ll die in that unredeemed state and he’ll be unredeemed and he’ll stay cursed and separated from God. He’ll die both a natural and a spiritual death and be forever lost.
One must know the cost and then they can appreciate the rpice that was paid for their unrighteousness. Peter was strong that day, because he’d seen by spiritual vision natural death and also spiritual death and its consequence. He gained this understanding by being with the Master, he gained it by spiritual eyesight. Peter as each of us should be, was desperate to help others to see this way, to know the cost, to know the price that was paid, because of the severity of eternal separation from God. Peter’s message was full of rescue. Peter was on a mission to take people out of the mouth of hell’s call, to rescue people from lies that would cause them to die unchanged. He preached this to them there, and the word is still being given to us today. The choice is still being given us today, the choice for change.
As this New Year dawns, I as Peter, want to ask you, if you’ve received the work of Jesus Chriat? Do you know who He is? Do you know what He did for you?
There are instant evidences of this knowledge.
Love is an instant evidence.
Joy is also evidence.
Peace is big, because when you’ve been rescued out of the torment of an appointment in hell, you realize there is no other peace.
Behaviors will change, because desire changes.
If a person holds on tight to old unredeemed life things, they have not received enough revelation of the cost, of the price to just let go of what doesn’t matter so much anymore.
Priorities change in Christ. What used to be so important takes on much less meaning to us. Getting to know Christ, worshiping and loving Him is first.
Telling others so that they too can become rescued is big time evidence of a redeemed person who knows it.
Desire to be in the house of God, to be committed to a local fellowship of Born Again alive and moving believers is evidence.
Worship of God, no matter how silly it seems to the world is evidence. We could worship so many other things and show joy in so many other activities ( ball games, concerts, washing our cars, working for more $ etc), but we choose to worship God. That is evidence of the redeemed.
Giving of money is huge! Huge. Money is the largest American god, security and trust blanket. If we give of money, we tell that god, we do not serve him any longer. We have money, but money does not have us. This is also evidence.
I beg you, confess your sin of not knowing and following after God, not acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Savior. Give it all up to and for Him.
Come to the house of the Lord, today (New Years Eve services, they are at 7-9 at Rock church tonight) or tomorrow where there’s church service. Tell someone there you have just received Him.’
Be the evidence!
Don’t just read about it, or be entertained by it’s invitations to you or in watching others live the life of a Christian.
Be the evidence- Today!
Do it for you
Be it for your family
Give it to the world!

John 1:14 So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. F1 And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.