January 19, 2023 | Be On Mission
3000 People Repent and Get Baptized
Scripture: Acts 2:36-41 (NIV)
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Devotional
What shall we do?
It’s a great question. When those gathered for the day of Pentecost heard the proclamation about Jesus, they plainly asked, “What shall we do?” They had other options. They could have ridiculed Peter. They could have attacked Peter. They could have walked away from Peter. But they didn’t. The Bible says they were “cut to the heart” which prompted them to ask, “What shall we do?”
When is the last time that you were spiritually cut to the heart? Too often our hearts are hard from past pain, or mushy from cultural relativism, or immune from all the spiritual inoculations of our religious activities. But it’s a whole other thing to be “cut to the heart.” When that happens, we KNOW that God the Father has been moving, that Jesus has been speaking, and that the Holy Spirit has been prodding us. Ask Him to cut you to the heart.
Peter’s answer to their “What shall we do?” question was, “Repent and be baptized.” Again, Peter doesn’t mince words. You have sin in your life. You need forgiveness for those sins. You must repent to find that forgiveness. In Luke 24:47, the resurrected Jesus told His disciples, “…repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” That is exactly what they were doing here in Acts 2 just ten days later.
Maybe you have been asking, “What shall I do?” If you are convinced and convicted about Jesus’ offer of forgiveness for you, then speak this prayer of salvation to the Lord right now:
Dear heavenly Father, I admit that I have unforgiven sins in my life. I am truly sorry and ask you to forgive me. I believe that Jesus your Son lived the only perfect life in the history of the world, and that He died on a cross to take away my sins. I give you all my sins. I give you all of me. Come Holy Spirit. Fill me to overflowing with your presence. Make me a new person. Help me to live for you in everything I say and do. I love you Lord! Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, you are forgiven! Now tell another believer, so that together you may learn what it means to follow Jesus!
Poem
Piercing
Acts 2:37
Hoping to look more than age
All grown up
Beauty
Hoping in rebellion
I asked my Mother
All-working, sore
Beauty
Exhaustion
For a piercing
Babbles
To display
Hoping to ignore then age
The forty mark
Beauty
Hoping to regain
I asked my Jeweler
Hovered, bent
Beauty
Diamond
For a piercing
Stud
To display
Hoping to equip my age
The wisdom prayer
Beauty
Hoping to find
I asked my Mentor
Thoughtful, still
Beauty
Heart
For a piercing
Change
To display
Hoping to live out my age
The daily rule
Beauty
Hoping to faith
I asked the Spirit
Hovering, exhorting
Beauty
Soul
For a piercing
Binding tether
To display
