Devotion - Acts 2:36

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

“Christ is Lord!” Peter proclaims…and so should you. It should be the anthem of the church. Have you ever pondered possibly the reason why the church is failing to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus is because we lost the fact that Christ is Lord? How is that even possible? We have place the name of Jesus on T-shirts…the same name that men of the Old Testament were too scared to even write. We have created different advertising pitches like “what would Jesus do”. We have packaged and bundled just about everything we can and put a Jesus stamp on it. Ultimately we have reduced Jesus to be nothing more than an object. He is like a special diet pill now that will change your life forever without you having to do any exercise…

And here is the thing…Jesus will stay that way unless you realize your part to play in His life.

What is your part?

Peter reminds them now for the second time…”Jesus, whom you crucified”.

I know I am speaking tough on this subject…but I love you enough to tell you the truth. Jesus wasn’t just a great teacher. He wasn’t just a great prophet. He isn’t a name brand clothing apparel…He is Christ our Lord!

I am standing with Peter pleading to you that…

“I am a guilty. I am guilty of being a sinner. My sins put Jesus on that cross. Jesus made atonement for my sins and yours on that cross. By the shedding of His blood He paid the ultimate price and purchased our redemption. I was a slave to sin…but Christ set me free. I screamed “crucify him” by my actions and yet He still loves me. He still loves me…a sinner saved by grace. Don’t you realize that I would still be doing the same sinful things and possibly worse if it wasn’t for Jesus? The only thing that separates me from any other sinner is the fact of what Jesus has done for me at Calvary?”

I met Jesus Christ in a small church a little over 10 years ago…and I have never been the same. It hasn’t been always easy…but I can honestly tell you it has been the best thing to ever happen to me. Someone loved me enough to tell me about Jesus. It was crude evangelism at best…but they gave it their best effort.

Here is a great lesson…

When you combine the Holy Spirit with your best effort…it’s a deadly combination for life change…