Today in The Word
Monday June 13, 2022
If Philip was telling the Ethiopian the gospel message (Acts from Isaiah 53, what would be important to emphasize? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Isaiah 53:6 reads:
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Peter explains further in I Peter 2:25:
“For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the
Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
We are sheep prone to wander. But Jesus is the Shepherd of our Souls. He follows his work on the cross with a commitment to hunt for us. He is the Shepherd of Luke 15:4-6:
“…Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he…says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’”
The Gospel is the Good News that the Shepherd of our Souls is looking for us. And straying sheep can return to the Shepherd.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in The Word
Tuesday June 14, 2022
Peter made a series of bad choices. The Gospels tell us that in the Garden of Gethsemane, he cut off an ear from the High Priest’s servant, and was rebuked by Jesus, and then Jesus healed the man’s ear (John 18:10-11). Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Was Peter any different after the Day of Pentecost than before? The next story in Acts 3:6-7 tells of a trip to the Jerusalem Temple interrupted by a lame man begging:
“The Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.”
Peter went from a frustrated man swinging a sword wildly and injuring someone to a confident man being a conduit of God’s power to heal someone. What made the difference in these stories two months apart? I believe it was the infilling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Peter went from attempting something in his own power to acting in faith in Jesus’ power. And that is one helpful effect of Holy Spirit baptism—we become more confident to act in God’s power. And people are helped instead of hurt.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Wednesday June 15, 2022
Remember Peter denying that he even knew Jesus while he was on trial before Annas and Caiaphas? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Immediately after the Day of Pentecost, Peter is involved in the healing of a lame man at the Temple. We see a different Peter in Acts 4:5-10:
“…the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas…and others…They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said…”If we are…being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.””
Peter moved from denial to declaration. He was afraid of what these powerful religious elite would do to him on Last Supper night, but now two months later, he was challenging the same leaders with their murder and Jesus’ resurrection openly.
The difference was the filling of the Spirit. Holy Spirit baptism moves us from denial to declaration.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Thursday June 16, 2022
How strong was Peter’s challenge to the religious leaders after the healing of the lame man at the Temple? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Acts 4:11 quotes Peter:
“Jesus is “’the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’”
Peter is quoting Psalm 118 to them, which goes on to state in vv 25-27:
“Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord…With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.””
Peter is so bold that he is willing to tell the religious leaders that their rejection of Jesus at his triumphal entry weeks earlier was prophesied in scripture! The Messiah had come and they had mistakenly urged everyone to shut up. Their rejection of Jesus was a fulfillment of prophecy.
I can’t imagine the insult Peter was delivering to them. What changed him from that person who denied he knows Jesus to a servant girl? It was the presence of the Holy Spirit inside of him that brought about the change. And like Peter, we can be full of the Spirit too.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Friday June 17, 2022
Peter gives the religious leaders more than they are asking for. Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. After Peter and John bring healing to a lame beggar at the Temple, the religious leaders want to know, “…By what power or what name did you do this?” (Acts 4:7) Peter explains Jesus healed the man, but then gives them more in Acts 4:11-12:
“Jesus is “’the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.””
Peter states boldly that Jesus is more than the man’s healer. Jesus is the only way to right relationship with God. These religious leaders believe that right relationship with God comes through following Moses’ commands and regulations. But Peter explains that they have rejected the new, but only true way to God. Trust in Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross is the only way to truly get rid of our blockade of sin. Everything in the Old Testament looked forward to Jesus.
Salvation is found in no one else but Jesus. This narrow truth is the heart of the gospel.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.