Grace, Hope & Peace, Friend;
Possibly written after king David built his palace but was stopped from building a temple for God, (1 Chronicles 17) the psalmist wrote,
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
Psalm 118:22
A cornerstone is defined as, “something of great importance on which everything else depends.“
Centuries later, Peter and John healed a forty-year-old man, who had been lame since birth, at the entrance to the temple. This gave Peter an opportunity to present the gospel to the crowds – inviting them to return to God in the name of Jesus, (Acts 3) and the number of believers grew to about five thousand men.
Worried about the effect that teaching the resurrection of Jesus would have on their influence over the people, the religious leaders imprisoned Peter and John. The next morning they brought them before the priests, elders and scribes and asked, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” (Acts 4:1-7)
Enabled by the Holy Spirit, Peter responded, “It is by the name of Jesus, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, – by THIS name this man stands here before you in good health.” (Vs. 8-10) Then Peter declared,
He is the stone, which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:11-12
Jesus is the “Thing of great importance on which everything else depends.” Our reconciliation with our creator depends solely on Him – God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19) – There is NO OTHER WAY.
It is an individual choice each of us must make. Instead of making that choice, the religious council “began to confer with one another,” (Vs. 15) and chose to continue rejecting Jesus. Your reconciliation with God, through Jesus, depends only on your relationship with Him – not on friends or family, not even on ‘religious leaders.’
Yeshua, Rosh Pinnah – Jesus, Cornerstone – help me build my life founded on You.
No one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:11
Build on Him,
Words of Encouragement 