Welcome to another daily encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

I'm Mike Whitmer, and I titled today's reading, This is Grace.

Le Miserab begins with paroled convict John Valjean stealing a priest's silver. He's caught, and he expects

to be returned to the mines. But the priest shocks everyone when he claims he'd given the silver

to Valjean. After the police leave, he turns to the thief. You belong no longer to evil,

but to good. Such extravagant love points to the love that flowed from the fountain from which all grace comes. On the day of Pentecost, Peter told his

audience that less than two months before, in that very city, they had crucified Jesus. The crowd was crushed and asked

what they must do. Peter replied in Acts 238, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of

Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus had endured the punishment they deserved. Now their penalty

would be forgiven if they put their faith in him. Oh, the irony of grace. The people could only

be forgiven because of Christ's death, a death they were responsible for. How gracious and powerful is God? He's used humanity's

greatest sin to accomplish our salvation. If God has already done this with the sin of crucifying

Jesus, we may assume there's nothing he can't turn into something good.

Trust the one who, in all things, works for the good of those who love him.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Acts chapter 2, verses 32 through 41.

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit,

and has poured out what you now see and hear.

For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this.

God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

...