Category: Today’s Truth

There are those who cannot hear the message of God. It is not that they haven’t been told; they truly cannot hear the message because they have turned themselves off to it. Their hearts are hardened and will not let the gospel in. They have chosen to believe the god of this world, Satan, as 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says: “If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

Satan is the father of lies. He is ruler of the world and entices people to follow his ways. This is why we see whole communities fall. They give in to sin and destruction. Look at Sodom and Gomorrah. God destroyed them because of their wicked ways. It is not that he had no compassion for them, because he did, but there was not one righteous person there. Fast forward to Nineveh. God sent Jonah to turn the people to Him, and when He shared the truth, they turned from their wicked ways, much to Jonah’s disdain. The difference between these communities was that one chose to continue to live in darkness and the other one chose the light.

There will be those who choose to follow the lies of the enemy, but we must live in the glorious light of eternity. We can know that if we follow Christ, we will be able to lead others to that same light. Even in the midst of a sinful society, we can still turn others to Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:2 tells us to “reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.” There are no shortcuts to Christianity. As much as the world tells you that you can find your own way to God, you can’t. Jesus is the only way. In His Word He says that He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Him. Jesus Christ!

As a believer, we should reject anything that does not lead to the Lord. There is a perfect picture of this in 1 Samuel 28. Saul was looking for answers first from the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him, and then he sought out a medium instead. He was not living a righteous life, so God would not answer him. He could have humbled himself and the Lord may have listened. But instead, he just wanted answers and went to something that rejected God.

As His children, we must always seek Him and His way. We must reject shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We must live in holiness instead of tricking others. We must not distort the Word of God, but instead seek the heart of God by speaking truth and living by His Word. His way leads to life and everything else leads to death.

There is no hope like the hope that can be found in Jesus Christ. For the nonbeliever, there is only hope in the here and now, hope in people or situations, but there is no hope to come. No hope in what happens after this life. However, for the Christian, hope can be found in the darkest hour. There is hope in the present day and hope for a future. There is an eternal hope that does not end once this life ends.

2 Corinthians 4:1 describes this hope for the believer, “Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.” The new way is the way of salvation of man through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. God in all of His mercy for mankind, His creation, gave His son up as a sacrifice for our sins. This is the Good News of Christianity! Jesus paid the ultimate price so that we could live with God forever in eternity! Because we have been given such a great life through Jesus, we never give up! We have been given a beautiful hope that we cling to!

Do you cling to that hope today or are you clinging to something physical? A relationship, a career, your health, or what you think the future holds? Spend some time in prayer today, thanking God for the hope He gives and asking Him to help you cling to Him and what is spiritual instead of the physical.

In Acts 2:23, Peter preaches and says to the people, “But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.” God had a prearranged plan before the world began, knowing that man would sin and would need reconciliation. So when Judas betrayed Jesus in the garden, God had already known what would happen, so it did not shake Him off of His throne or change His plan.

Peter says that with the help of lawless Gentiles, He was nailed to a cross. The hard hearts of men yelled, “Crucify Him,” and chose Him to be crucified over a criminal. The hard hearts of men tried Him in the dark of night, in secret, so that the people would not know. The hard hearts of men cast lots for His clothing while He was dying.

Hard hearts today continue to nail Him on a cross. Our sin nailed Him to the cross that day and continues to every time we choose sin over Him. There would be no need for the cross if there was no sin. So we see that His death was needed to heal the relationship between God and man. We need His salvation to live a righteous life.

Since the people of the Acts 2 church were meeting together every day and had all things in common with each other, since they were devoting themselves to worship everyday, and they shared what they had with the lost community, they saw many people being saved every single day as it says in Acts 2:47. “…all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

Talk about real revival! Throughout history we have seen many other revivals resulting in thousands coming to know Christ. Years ago, friends of mine began meeting together in worship and Bible Study every Friday night. We chose to do this instead of spending our weekends at parties or bars. It was a result of the newfound faith some of my friends had. At the same time, we began to see God working in young people across the nation. Time Magazine even had a cover of an event for young people with the title, “Jesus Rocks!” We were experiencing revival sweep the nation and were right in the middle of it, devoting ourselves to worship and all things in common!

This can happen again. It is not something that only happens once in a lifetime. As 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” He will heal our land and bring revival if we ask it if Him.

One of the most significant parts of the first church was their devotion to worship. Acts 2:46 says, “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity.” They were constantly in fellowship together, worshipping the Lord and sharing with each other in joy and generosity.

When God is your King, Jesus is your life, and the Holy Spirit is your heart, you will live your life in worship every day. You will bring authentic worship before the Lord, you will meet with other believers, and share with great joy and generosity. Worship is more a lifestyle than one act. It is what you do every day with your life. God and the gospel will be your priority instead of yourself and your own selfish desires.

Take some time alone with the Lord, pray and ask Him to give you a heart for worship and fellowship, then seek out other believers to learn and grow with.

The first church in Acts 2 had all things in common. They were of one mind, unified, in one accord. Their purpose was the same. Acts 2:44-45 says, “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.” They not only met together, but they sold everything they had and used their money to serve the poor. They truly loved the Lord and His people.

This is a picture of what the church should be: all things in common, one purpose, serving the community and all who are in need. All churches need to strive to make this their mission. Not that everyone needs to sell all their positions, but to make their mission to be a church that seeks to be unified, living in harmony, making the lost community a priority.

It all starts with you. How can you become more unified with your church? How can you live in harmony with other believers? How can you serve your community?

So the people of Acts 2 were moved as they heard the words of Peter on the day of Pentecost. They had experienced the salvation of Jesus that day and were ready to go out into the world. As Acts 2:42 says, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” What did they do after they heard the message of Peter? They devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, and prayer! They made up the first church!

Don’t you wish the church still looked like this today? Unfortunately, many churches are not truly going after the Lord in unity. We see churches fighting, splitting, and completely satisfied with maintaining the same week in to week out. As a church body, we must allow the words of the Bible to inspire and influence the way we live. We are the church, the bride of Christ, so we must act like it!

We have the message today through the Bible. Isn’t it amazing to think that the same words that Jesus spoke 2,000 years ago and the same words Peter preached are in the Bible. We have access to these words! Take some time to sit down, and allow His Words to speak to your heart.

“Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” Peter strongly urged the listeners as he preached to the people in Acts 2:40. He knew that even after their salvation, they would experience the temptations of the world and the enemy. They would be returning to a crooked society that would try to entice them and would need to rely on their salvation.

John tells us in 1 John 2:15-16, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” We are not to love this world or anything in the world. It has nothing to offer us except heartache and sin.

Why shouldn’t we live as the world lives? 1 John 2:17 goes on to say, “And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” The world is passing away, but the man who lives for the Lord will live forever in eternity with Him!

In Peter’s first sermon, he quotes something David had said, “You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence,” (Acts 2:28). David knew the way of the Lord. He followed God, and even when He failed, God still loved Him and knew His heart. He still called David a man after His own heart. David knew the way of the Lord, lived His life as a testimony to who God was, and loved Him with all of His heart.

David knew the joy of the Lord because of all He had done for Him. He walked in His goodness and mercy and because of all He experienced with God, He knew His joy. The joy of the Lord was His strength.

This is perhaps why Peter included this part of David’s testimony in his message. He wanted the new followers of Jesus to know that when you know the way of the Lord, He gives you joy and that joy sustains you and gives you strength.