Slices
Prepare
One writer has said that Christianity is the only faith to assert that the God who is with us is the God with scars. Jesus understands the depth of human pain. Turn to him now with yours.
Bible passage
29 ‘Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
‘“The Lord said to my Lord:
‘Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.’”
36 ‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.’
Explore
In his well-known hymn, ‘God Moves in a Mysterious Way’, the troubled eighteenth-century writer William Cowper pens this verse:
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding ev’ry hour.
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.
Cowper is urging us, in worship, to recognise that God is able to bring hope out of the most adverse of circumstances. And the Bible is full of such assurances. I think of Joseph’s early experiences as recorded in the book of Genesis – a catalogue of injustice and betrayal. Reflecting on his life, he says to his brothers: ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good’ (Genesis 50:20).
It’s an idea that resonates in the climax to Peter’s sermon, that this Jesus who was crucified has now been exalted to the highest place. Commenting on verse 36, Joseph A Fitzmyer suggested that, by referring to him as Lord, Peter is elevating Jesus to the same status as God (v 36). This is the holiest name that can be given to Jesus.
Respond
Come before God with all your disappointments and regrets, asking that you might know his hope, even as you process difficult feelings. Pray: ‘Lord, assure me that you are at work even when all seems hopeless.’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 1 Kings 1,2; Psalm 55
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