	Bob Hostetler > Devotions

Both Lord and Christ

by Bob Hostetler

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36)

In March 1985, a fifty-four-year-old man named Mikhail Gorbachev was named to succeed Konstantin Chernenko as general secretary of the Communist party, making him the most powerful man in the Soviet Union. Three years later, in 1988, Gorbachev consolidated his hold on power when he became Soviet president and chief of state.

When the Apostle Peter rose to address a crowd that had gathered for the Feast of Pentecost, he boldly proclaimed that a thirty-three-year-old man named Jesus had accomplished an infinitely greater feat than anyone before or since.

Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus finished His mission of atonement and demonstrated the dual titles that had been given Him by God the Father: Lord and Christ.

As Christ (the Greek form of the word, Messiah) Jesus had come and died to set His people free--not in a political sense, as many had expected, but in a larger, greater, spiritual sense. As Lord, Jesus had risen and ascended to rule on high and to rule in the hearts of those He saved from sin. His dual titles reflect His dual role in the life of every believer.

Prayer: I claim your deliverance, my Christ; I surrender to your power, my Lord. Rule in my life today.

More devotions by Bob Hostetler...