So we finally reach Pentecost and who is there to explain it all? That’s right, Peter, the same guy who denied Jesus three times when Jesus was being persecuted, tried, and found punishable by crucifixion. God’s grace is amazing! Reading verses 40-41 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. Even with all the baggage Peter carried God allowed him to deliver the word that brought 3,000 people to the saving knowledge of grace. No matter what you or I have done wrong in our lives, God has given us the ability to not only be saved, but also to be used to have great impact on His kingdom!
2012 Day 105 – Act 2
14 Saturday Apr 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
Daily Devotion 
You’re right on, Dino. And what hit me in that same vein was Peter’s accusations against the Jews for allowing Jesus to be killed, yet in the next breath is offering God’s love and forgiveness. Not only did Peter receive this incredible mercy and grace immediately from God., but it was also offered to those who not long ago had been yelling “Crucify him!”. Talk about a challenge to us when we have trouble forgiving someone. I don’t think any of us have a hurt that great yet we hold grudges forever. And when we hold grudges we’re essentially making ourselves the most important thing. We sit and think how unfair it was to me, how could they do that to me, I didn’t do anything to deserve this. Notice the main focus of that narrative? Anthony Demello talks to great length in his book Awareness that we hold these expectations of perfection of other people. How asinine is that? We are all severely flawed. We are going to let each other down all the time. Our expectation should be that we will be hurt, that people are going to do sucky things to is but that’s normal. We shouldn’t be surprised. When you live with that level of reality, it makes it so much easier to forgive. It also makes it quite a bit easier to forgive when you realize how much you’ve been personally forgiven by God. When you sit in his presence, his holiness and see how not holy you are, forgiveness of others comes pretty easily. But thank God that even when we struggle with it, we can ask him for help and he will change our hearts. We serve an unbelievable, unexplainable God for which I am actually quite grateful.