In His Grace, we are blessed and called!
Job 19:25-26
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
The Old Testament believers yearned to see the Kingdom of God on earth. They knew that it would happen. they stood on the promises of God.
Romans 15:8-12 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” 10 And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” 11 And again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” 12 And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.”
Acts 2:27-35 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’ 29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
Jesus, at His second coming will sit on the throne of David, as the King of kings and the Lord over all. Now He sits at the right hand of the Father intervening on our behalf. In His shed blood sin and death are finished. We only need to accept His truth.
Acts 2:36-39 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 3:11-16 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though 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, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
Acts 3:24-26 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
The gift of salvation, in Jesus Christ, we accept by faith . In the rejection of the majority of His chosen people salvation came to the nations. God knew that the majority of the Jews would not accept their Messiah King. Nevertheless He came to earth and fulfilled the promise to Abraham that in him all the world would be blessed. In the Israelites rejection of Jesus Christ as their King the salvation of Jesus was offered to the whole world. Carla
Peter affirms what Jesus had told His disciples after His resurrection: that the Old Testament Scriptures testify to Him (Luke 24:25–27, 44–47). Peter notes that the prophets spoke of the Messiah, Jesus, and the time He is currently living in—when the Holy Spirit would be poured out and the day of final judgment for all of humanity would be imminent (Joel 2:28–31). Sons stresses the privileged position of Israel to receive the word of God and to inherit the benefits of God’s gracious covenant promises to Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3, 15; 17:1–21). The Greek word for offspring used here, sperma, often translated “seed” or “offspring,” can refer to a singular descendant or to someone’s descendants as a collective whole. Peter’s language here recalls the promise to Abraham that in his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:18). His servant is a reference to the Suffering Servant prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1–9; 49:1–12; 50:4–10; 52:13–53:12). Peter shows the responsibility that his fellow Jews have because they received Yahweh’s covenant and the Messiah came to them. Faithlife Study Bible.
Throughout Peter’s sermon in chapter 2, he balances the human responsibility of the Jews and Romans with the eternal plan of God. The word translated refreshing refers to restoration of strength and nourishment. Strength is restored when hope is restored. Peter challenged the people to repent and be converted, to change their thinking about Jesus as their Messiah and to serve Him. The NKJV Study Bible
Genesis 22:18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Acts 2:39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Romans 9:4–5 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
There is nothing small about compassion. It is the thread of life woven through each day. There is nothing small about compassion. There is nothing small about making a difference in the life of one human being. As humans—in the image of God—we touch, love, give, receive and redeem…
“You are a light. You are the light.” John Lewis wrote, “Never let anyone—any person or any force—dampen, dim or diminish your light.”
And that, well, that is light worth spilling. And it is the light of Grace. Excerpt from “Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey
“If you see someone falling behind, walk beside them. If you see someone being ignored, find a way to include them. If someone has been knocked down, lift them up. Always remind people of their worth. One small act could mean the world to them.” (Author unknown)
God's mercy and grace triumph over our arrogance as He "shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" (Acts 10:34-35). Let's celebrate God's goodness in our lives and in the lives of others as we share in the joy of the angels when someone repents and surrenders to Christ (Luke 15:10). First5
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