Tagged: Daily Reflection

“The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common.” —Acts 4:32 Go back and re-read the above verse. Then close your eyes for a moment and picture the lifestyle of the early Christians. Our ancestors in faith “were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common” (Acts 4:32). “Nor was there anyone needy among them, for all who owned property or houses sold them and donated the proceeds. They used...

“The Lord is with you.” —Luke 1:28 Love songs of all cultures express the desires of a lover who yearns to be with the beloved, no matter what it takes. Likewise, it wasn’t enough for Jesus to love us from heaven. Whatever it took, He just had to be with us. Jesus took on human flesh so He could be with us (Jn 1:14). Jesus’ very name is “Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God is with us’ ” (Mt 1:23). Even if He had to die for our sins, even if He had to suffer in His humanity, Jesus loved...

“Everyone who lives in Jerusalem knows what a remarkable show of power took place through them. We cannot deny it.” —Acts 4:16 How do we know that Jesus has risen from the dead? The historicity of the Resurrection accounts in the Bible is more credible than other ancient documents because of the number and accuracy of the manuscripts of the Gospels and the reliability of the authors of the Gospel. This has been confirmed by the Gospels’ internal consistency and by archaeological discoveries. We have an intellectual, factual basis for believing that Jesus has risen. However, to know the significance...

“There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name in the whole world given to men by which we are to be saved.” —Acts 4:12 Jesus, by His death and resurrection, has saved us (see Ti 3:5). To accept the grace of salvation, we must believe in Jesus (Eph 2:8). We must also admit our need to be saved. We all have sinned (Rm 3:23), and we are unable to atone for even one of our sins, because the effects of any sin are very serious and destructive. Therefore, to admit our need for salvation, we...

“The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own kinsmen: you shall listen to Him in everything He says to you. Anyone who does not listen to that Prophet shall be ruthlessly cut off from the people.” –Acts 3:22-23 In the early Church, many believed in the risen Christ because of the prophetic power of Jesus and His followers. Jesus was the Prophet prophesied by Moses (Acts 3:22; Dt 18:15ff). The words of the risen Christ and His witnesses “were as a flaming furnace” (Sir 48:1). Their words were like fire in their...