Today's Good News

APRIL 27 – JESUS

4/27 Acts 2:22-35
22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing wonderful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But you followed God’s prearranged plan. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to the cross and murdered him. 24 However, God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life again, for death could not keep him in its grip. 25 King David said this about him: ‘I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. 26 No wonder my heart is filled with joy, and my mouth shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. 27 For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. 28 You have shown me the way of life, and you will give me wonderful joy in your presence.’ 29 “Dear brothers, think about this! David wasn’t referring to himself when he spoke these words I have quoted, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30 But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on David’s throne as the Messiah. 31 David was looking into the future and predicting the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that the Messiah would not be left among the dead and that his body would not rot in the grave. 32 “This prophecy was speaking of Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and we all are witnesses of this. 33 Now he sits on the throne of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34 For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in honor at my right hand 35 until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.’
JESUS
He came for us paying a price with His own blood that we might have forgiveness of our sin and be reunited with the Father and at the same time in His own flesh abolished death for He gives us eternal life.

APRIL 26 – REJOICE

4/26 Acts 2:12-21
12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. 13 But others in the crowd were mocking. “They’re drunk, that’s all!” they said. 14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 Some of you are saying these people are drunk. It isn’t true! It’s much too early for that. People don’t get drunk by nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, what you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘In the last days, God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy. 19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below — blood and fire and clouds of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon will turn bloodred, before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. 21 And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
REJOICE
Rejoice because the Lord has come for you. He will save you and one day is coming back. The Lord is in control, let Him have control of your life. Be saved. He will not forsake you. The Lord Jesus will give you a relationship with the Lord. He will make you a part of God’s family.

APRIL 25 – POWER

4/25 Acts 2:1-11
1 On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. 5 Godly Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem at that time. 6 When they heard this sound, they came running to see what it was all about, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. 7 They were beside themselves with wonder. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born! 9 Here we are — Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11 Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
POWER
There is power in your life to deal with the obstacles that you face. Down He will lift you up. At your wits end He will give you wisdom. Your life in God’s hands becomes a life that is filled with the activity of the Holy Spirit working out in your life the will of God. Surrender you life to Jesus and the Holy Spirit will change the way that you life.

APRIL 24 – GRACE

4/24 Galatians 2:8-21
8 For the same God who worked through Peter for the benefit of the Jews worked through me for the benefit of the Gentiles. 9 In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. 10 The only thing they suggested was that we remember to help the poor, and I have certainly been eager to do that. 11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing, for it was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who don’t bother with circumcision. But afterward, when some Jewish friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore because he was afraid of what these legalists would say. 13 Then the other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was influenced to join them in their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you trying to make these Gentiles obey the Jewish laws you abandoned? 15 You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ — and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law.” 17 But what if we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then find out that we are still sinners? Has Christ led us into sin? Of course not! 18 Rather, I make myself guilty if I rebuild the old system I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God’s approval. So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ. 20 I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.
GRACE
The grace of God is available for you. Jesus is ready to receive you. By faith in Jesus Christ we are saved. Recognize that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness. Ask Jesus to accept you into God’s family and He will. With His acceptance comes the forgiveness we need to enter into the Family of God. Also He graces us with what we need and cannot earn-a relationship with Jesus.

APRIL 23 – GOOD NEWS

4/23 Galatians 2:1-7
1 Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I talked privately with the leaders of the church. I wanted them to understand what I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure they did not disagree, or my ministry would have been useless. 3 And they did agree. They did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile. 4 Even that question wouldn’t have come up except for some so-called Christians there — false ones, really — who came to spy on us and see our freedom in Christ Jesus. They wanted to force us, like slaves, to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to listen to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the Good News for you. 6 And the leaders of the church who were there had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) 7 They saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the Good News to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews.
GOOD NEWS
There is good news for us. Christ has come to give us the gift of life. It is the gift of God so that no one can boast. He offers it to us and we can choose to accept. Ask Jesus to give you this life and He will. He tells us the He is faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sin and make us new in the family of God. Jesus is Lord.

APRIL 22 – HOLY

4/22 Jeremiah 31:32-40
32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the LORD. 33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know me,” says the LORD. “And I will forgive their wickedness and will never again remember their sins.” 35 It is the LORD who provides the sun to light the day and the moon and stars to light the night. It is he who stirs the sea into roaring waves. His name is the LORD Almighty, and this is what he says: 36 “I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to do away with the laws of nature! 37 Just as the heavens cannot be measured and the foundation of the earth cannot be explored, so I will not consider casting them away forever for their sins. I, the LORD, have spoken! 38 “The time is coming,” says the LORD, “when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 A measuring line will be stretched out over the hill of Gareb and across to Goah. 40 And the entire area — including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley, and all the fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the Horse Gate — will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be captured or destroyed.”
HOLY
We are holy because He is Holy and gives us Himself. We are new in Christ and He abides in us. His presence in us imparts His holiness to us. We are new in Christ and He is our life. He gives us light for living and life in Himself.

APRIL 21 – NEW

4/21 Jeremiah 31:22-31
22 How long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the LORD will cause something new and different to happen — Israel will embrace her God. ” 23 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back again, the people of Judah and its cities will again say, ‘The LORD bless you — O righteous home, O holy mountain!’ 24 And city dwellers and farmers and shepherds alike will live together in peace and happiness. 25 For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.” 26 At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet. 27 “The time will come,” says the LORD, “when I will greatly increase the population and multiply the number of cattle here in Israel and Judah. 28 In the past I uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will plant it and build it up,” says the LORD. 29 “The people will no longer quote this proverb: ‘The parents eat sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.’ 30 All people will die for their own sins — those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker. 31 “The day will come,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.
NEW
Christ makes all things new. We are new in Christ. Our world will be new in Christ. All things will be new in Him. We will serve Him and He will give us life. In Christ we will live and abide into eternity. Rejoice in Jesus for He is God’s everything.

APRIL 20 – FUTURE

4/20 Jeremiah 31:10-21
10 “Listen to this message from the LORD, you nations of the world; proclaim it in distant coastlands: The LORD, who scattered his people, will gather them together and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock. 11 For the LORD has redeemed Israel from those too strong for them. 12 They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem. They will be radiant because of the many gifts the LORD has given them — the good crops of wheat, wine, and oil, and the healthy flocks and herds. Their life will be like a watered garden, and all their sorrows will be gone. 13 The young women will dance for joy, and the men — old and young — will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing. 14 I will supply the priests with an abundance of offerings. I will satisfy my people with my bounty. I, the LORD, have spoken!” 15 This is what the LORD says: “A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah — mourning and weeping unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted — for her children are dead.” 16 But now the LORD says, “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you. Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. 17 There is hope for your future,” says the LORD. “Your children will come again to their own land. 18 I have heard Israel saying, ‘You disciplined me severely, but I deserved it. I was like a calf that needed to be trained for the yoke and plow. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the LORD my God. 19 I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.’ 20 “Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” asks the LORD. “I had to punish him, but I still love him. I long for him and surely will have mercy on him. 21 “Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Mark well the path by which you came. Come back again, my virgin Israel; return to your cities here.
FUTURE
Our future rests in the hands of Jesus. He is our future hope. Christ took us from separation from the Lord to connection in Him in the family of God. We belong to Him. He holds our future and one day we will see Him face to face. He has washed our sin away and cleansed us with His own righteousness. Jesus is our Lord.

April 19 – PROPHECY

4/19 Jeremiah 31:1-9
1 “In that day,” says the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people. 2 I will care for the survivors as they travel through the wilderness. I will again come to give rest to the people of Israel.” 3 Long ago the LORD said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. 4 I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with tambourines. 5 Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there. 6 The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD our God.'” 7 Now this is what the LORD says: “Sing with joy for Israel ! Shout for the greatest of nations! Shout out with praise and joy: ‘Save your people, O LORD, the remnant of Israel!’ 8 For I will bring them from the north and from the distant corners of the earth. I will not forget the blind and lame, the expectant mothers and women about to give birth. A great company will return! 9 Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and not stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my oldest child.
PROPHECY
The Lord tells us what He has done and will do. His future is unfolding now in our lives. Let the redeemed of the Lord sing out “Jesus Saves.” Do not forget when you are facing the impossible that all things are possible with the Lord.

APRIL 18 – WONDERFUL

4/18 Isaiah 25:1-12
1 O LORD, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. 2 You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins. Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble. Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and will never be rebuilt. 3 Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory; ruthless nations will revere you. 4 But to the poor, O LORD, you are a refuge from the storm. To the needy in distress, you are a shelter from the rain and the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, 5 or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. You cool the land with the shade of a cloud. So the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled. 6 In Jerusalem, the LORD Almighty will spread a wonderful feast for everyone around the world. It will be a delicious feast of good food, with clear, well-aged wine and choice beef. 7 In that day he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. 8 He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The LORD has spoken! 9 In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God. We trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!” 10 For the LORD’s good hand will rest on Jerusalem. Moab will be crushed like trampled straw and left to rot. 11 God will push down Moab’s people as a swimmer pushes down water with his hands. He will end their pride and all their evil works. 12 The high walls of Moab will be demolished and ground to dust.
WONDERFUL
We can call Him wonderful. He stands against all of those things that would destroy us. One day He is coming back for us. He will swallow up death, we will no longer be under its shadow. The Lord is God and He loves us. Today the Lord is your salvation. Let Him have your heart.