TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE
Please read Acts 4
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:8–12
DEVOTIONAL
by Elder Chris Beltran
With courage from the Holy Spirit, Peter said, “which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you or to God?” What amazed the leaders were when they saw Peter and John’s courage and realized they were uneducated, ordinary men. They took note that these men had been with Jesus and taught things beyond human wisdom—changing lives and impacting society in ways never seen before.
Moreover, the Jewish council could not refute the resurrection of Jesus since they were told by the Roman guards guarding the tomb that it happened. They just bribed them to say a different story (read Matthew 28:1–15). They did not want to acknowledge the truth because doing so meant they were mistaken in crucifying Him. More than 50 learned rabbis in the Sanhedrin were no match for two uneducated, ordinary men who had been with Jesus. These rabbis ran out of reason and excuses and had no recourse but to free the disciples.
More and more believers were added, and the believers’ faith was further strengthened to the point of having “one heart and mind” (v. 32). Their only mindset was for the benefit of the church and the work of God that they shared everything they got—not just the excesses. And the place where they met and prayed was shaken, and all were filled by the Holy Spirit seeing how they spoke God’s word boldly.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we pray for the courage and boldness of Peter and John to be upon us as we proclaim Your truth. May our lives reflect our relationship with Jesus so that others may see Your work in us. Strengthen our faith, unite us as one body, and fill us with Your Holy Spirit, enabling us to speak Your word boldly and impact our society for Your glory, in Jesus’ name, amen.
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