Daily Devotional

In response to their question, Peter mentioned two points: a. “Repent and be baptised for the forgiveness of your sins” and b. “Save yourself from this crooked generation.” What sins are holding me down spiritually? If today we make up our minds to turn a new leaf, God, like the Prodigal Father, is ready to receive us. Today’s Psalm says: “His merciful love fills the earth.” One great saint said, “God is never tired of forgiving us; we are the ones who get tired of asking His forgiveness.” Never assume your sins are too much. Repent today and return to God, your first love. The second aspect of Peter’s recommendation is connected to the first: repenting means we save ourselves from the evils in the world.

Most of Jesus’ miracles happened in Galilee. Jesus worked his first miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding. There, Jesus healed the royal official’s son, the centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-law, the ten lepers, the blind man, etc. In Galilee, Jesus walked on water, produced a coin from a fish’s mouth, and drove out demons. I realised that Galilee was not merely a geographical circumscription but a symbol of faith.

How do we make our proclamation of Christ’s resurrection concrete? a. Choose Jesus instead of Barabbas. b. Prioritise Jesus over money. (Do not sell Jesus for 30 silver coins.) c. Defend your faith in public. Don’t keep quiet when people ask what you believe. d. Don’t hate or envy anyone like the Jews who wanted Jesus dead by all means. e. Don’t follow the crowd (like Pilate); stand by your beliefs. f. Don’t build your faith on signs and wonders, as the people who wanted Jesus to jump down from the cross did. g. Forgive wrongs patiently, as Jesus said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”