This Jesus

"But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words.... 

Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel an foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.... 

This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses."

Acts 2: 14-47

I think it's safe to say that Peter was passionate, driven, and committed follower of Christ. When he went in, he went all in. And he was all in for Jesus. 

• Matthew 26:33, "Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended."
• John 13:37, "Peter said until him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake."

But then we all know what happened after that. When put on the spot, he denied having any relationship with Jesus. How heartbreaking for Peter, how heartbreaking for his friend and Lord. 

Thankfully, Peter's story doesn't end there. He has a personal conversation with his risen Lord and Savior and Peter's life is forever changed. He steps into a leadership position with the followers of Christ and in Acts 2, he has the opportunity to give the very first gospel message. 

Honestly, Peter's exposition in Acts 2 gives me goosebumps. This Jesus of Nazareth - HIM! - He is the one the scriptures told about. The Messiah, The Savior of the world. Peter clearly and passionately gave the gospel message and 3,000 souls were saved. THIS JESUS. 

Jesus gives hope. The capture and death of Christ purchased our life and freedom. This moment of sadness gave us eternal joy of heart and life. He changed Peter and he can change you. 💙

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I had some fun playing with acrylic paint and stamps on this page. I painted, splotched, and splattered acrylic paint all over the page and then used the Messy Stamped Alpha, Texture Tiles 1, and Texture Tiles 5 stamp sets to illustrate the theme "This Jesus."

    

I encourage you to read Acts 2 and be encouraged by the truth of the gospel message today. 

Love in Christ, 

Janelle

@journalingjoy