Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ,
you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand. COL 3:1
ACTS 4:23-31
My Soul's Beloved,
We who are baptized have been given one mission, it is the same one You gave to Your Apostles and disciples 2000 years ago, we are to make disciples of all nations. The world resists You as it resists us and every effort made to make You known and loved. The godless, the undisciplined, the ignorant, those in love with the flesh and the pleasures of the world, the powerful who are in cahoots with the devil and hell, and arrogantly believe that the world is theirs to steal, plunder, and destroy at will. Because they have no fear of You, Lord, because they have not personally witnessed Your outrage against their evil, they believe that You do not exist, and so act with impunity against the poor. But we know, O Lord, that You will not be mocked and that the mills of God grind slowly and in the end justice will be rendered to perfection against the proud and the haughty who crushed Your little ones with their rapacious greed.
The chief priests and the elders thought that they could contain the power and zeal of the Holy Spirit burning in the hearts of Peter and John. Fear has no place in the lives of those who trust in God and abide in You. The Spirit of God that is poured upon all the faithful is not a spirit of cowardice and fear but of power, love, and self-mastery.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, we know that Your Word is truth, and we are consecrated in this truth. Grant us the confidence we need to live out this truth boldly and fearlessly, regardless of the consequences from the enemies of Truth.
As soon as Peter and John were released they went to the community and told them everything the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard it they lifted up their voice to God all together. ‘Master,’ they prayed ‘it is you who made heaven and earth and sea, and everything in them; you it is who said through the Holy Spirit and speaking through our ancestor David, your servant:
Why this arrogance among the nations,
these futile plots among the peoples?
Kings on earth setting out to war,
princes making an alliance,
against the Lord and against his Anointed.
‘This is what has come true: in this very city Herod and Pontius Pilate made an alliance with the pagan nations and the peoples of Israel, against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, but only to bring about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had predetermined should happen. And now, Lord, take note of their threats and help your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness, by stretching out your hand to heal and to work miracles and marvels through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly.
PSALM 2:1-9
Blessed are they who put their trust in God.
Why this tumult among nations,
among peoples this useless murmuring?
They arise, the kings of the earth,
princes plot against the Lord and his Anointed.
‘Come, let us break their fetters,
come, let us cast off their yoke.’
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord is laughing them to scorn.
Then he will speak in his anger,
his rage will strike them with terror.
‘It is I who have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.’
I will announce the decree of the Lord:
The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you this day.
Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,
put the ends of the earth in your possession.
With a rod of iron you will break them,
shatter them like a potter’s jar.’
Why this arrogance among the nations,
these futile plots among the peoples?
Kings on earth setting out to war,
princes making an alliance,
against the Lord and against his Anointed.
‘This is what has come true: in this very city Herod and Pontius Pilate made an alliance with the pagan nations and the peoples of Israel, against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, but only to bring about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had predetermined should happen. And now, Lord, take note of their threats and help your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness, by stretching out your hand to heal and to work miracles and marvels through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly.
PSALM 2:1-9
Blessed are they who put their trust in God.
Why this tumult among nations,
among peoples this useless murmuring?
They arise, the kings of the earth,
princes plot against the Lord and his Anointed.
‘Come, let us break their fetters,
come, let us cast off their yoke.’
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord is laughing them to scorn.
Then he will speak in his anger,
his rage will strike them with terror.
‘It is I who have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.’
I will announce the decree of the Lord:
The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you this day.
Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,
put the ends of the earth in your possession.
With a rod of iron you will break them,
shatter them like a potter’s jar.’
Blessed are they who put their trust in God.
JOHN 3:1-8
JOHN 3:1-8
My Soul's Beloved,
For as long as we allow our flesh to dictate our thoughts, words, and actions, the life of the Spirit will remain dormant in us. Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit is gentle and speaks to us softly and only when our hearts are still and silent. We do not hear Him simply because we have allowed the deafening sounds of the world to fill our ears. We are beguiled by the pleasures of the world, and we spend our entire lives chasing dreams that are of the world. We put our trust in money, in things, in power, in influence, lying to ourselves that these are the things we need to be happy, content, and secure. But that is a lie spread by the father of lies. You are the Truth, and Your Word is Truth, and those who abide in the Truth abide in You, and You abide in us.
It takes courage to go against the current of the world. Enemies abound. Laws are put in place to constrain and restrict the freedoms that are given to us by God Himself. Beloved, unless we act and live boldly in the freedom that God Himself has conferred on us, we will be unable to carry out the mission given to us by virtue of our baptism. Having been born again of water and the Spirit, no power on earth or under the earth can prevail against us. What is of the flesh and the world will decay and pass away, but the Life of the Spirit alive in us will never pass away.
Nicodemus was afraid of losing his position among the Pharisees, so he came to You by night. You did not reject him but met him as he was, accepting the little that he was ready to offer at that particular time. His faith was a tremulous, weak, wavering thing, but You understood, and You accepted him just as he was. This gives us encouragement as well. We, too, are poor, weak, frail, sinners, but as long as we strive without giving up, You will help us, lead us, guide us, and help us to grow stronger in every way every day.
There was one of the Pharisees called Nicodemus, a leading Jew, who came to Jesus by night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God; for no one could perform the signs that you do unless God were with him.’ Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born from above,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.’
Nicodemus said, ‘How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?’ Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born through water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God:
what is born of the flesh is flesh;
what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not be surprised when I say:
You must be born from above.
The wind blows wherever it pleases;
you hear its sound,
but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.’
‘I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born from above,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.’
Nicodemus said, ‘How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?’ Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born through water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God:
what is born of the flesh is flesh;
what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not be surprised when I say:
You must be born from above.
The wind blows wherever it pleases;
you hear its sound,
but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.’
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