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3-14-14. Acts 3:1-10 IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WALK!- my devotional

3-14-14. Acts 3:1-10  IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WALK!- my devotional

power in the name of Jesus

 Acts 3:1-10                                                                                                     Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse 3:6                                                                                                 3-14-14

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”(ESV)

      Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the privilege to witness the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit in the North. The networks and the relationships that you have formed and are continuing to form for this mission is mind boggling. Continue your good work in the hearts of the people. Send many long term missionaries. Establish Native led churches in every community. Now, Lord, please teach me some thing deep and profound from your word today. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 Part 1: A Lame From Birth (1-3)

      Verses 1-3, “Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.” (ESV)

These apostles were completely changed. Peter and John once competed to be the first but now they became the closest friends and teammates in Jesus. Peter was once paralyzed by fear and denied even knowing Jesus before the servant girl but now he fearlessly went to the temple to pray.  This is what happens when Jesus works in a person’s heart. They become completely transformed. They become new creations. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reads, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (ESV) I thank God for changing me from a hedonistic person to a child of God. God has been working to transform me to the point where I can co-work with other Christians and even think about approaching a challenging mission field. This is the power of God. If God can change me, then I know that he can change others. If he did it before he can do it again. May his recreating and regenerating power be revealed both here at the home front and across the North.

At the temple gate a lame from birth begged them for money. He was carried there. Actually he must have been carried all of his life. He was depending on others for his movement, and his sustenance and transport. This man stands as a symbol of sorts. He represents all lost sinners who were born crippled by sin, Satan and death and became helpless, hopeless, despaired and dependent on others.

We like to blame our present situation on things of the past. Historical trauma, my unique personality traits, my family, the things I have experienced, the government etc, etc. These things are factors in what we have become, but we don’t need to be enslaved by our circumstances. We must acknowledge the past and come to terms with it and find closure, but we must move forward and ahead. But how?

Jesus makes this possible. It is possible through the grace of forgiveness. When we repent and receive God’s complete forgiveness, then a great release occurs in our hearts. We are set free. The things that used to bind us seem to not be there. As the hymn, “Amazing Love” says, “My chains fell off…my heart was free. I rose, went forth and followed thee.” Jesus is with you and he will help you to heal, become sanctified and strengthen you. This will be the beginning of a long journey in life, but it is the beginning of a fruitful and blessed journey where we build our relationship with Christ and where we land smack dab in the middle of the kingdom of God. Jesus is the “way” maker for he makes a “way” when there seems to be “no way”.

This beggar may have seemed useless to some people, but he did have something to offer the world. Somebody loved him, for they took care of him. We are learning from his example even 2,000 years later. The poor can become a Christian’s mission field and serving them can become part of their meaning of life. Some say that the poor have a heart to serve those in need. I have heard it said, “If you want help, go to the poor.”

But I think that issue with this man is that he was suffering inwardly. He may have felt meaningless, begging. He may have lamented that he was dependent on so many people to survive. He had no hope, because as a Jewish person, he equated his lame condition as unforgiven sin. He felt rejected by the religious leaders. In this way he was stuck in his sin.

God made him to be like a prince. But in his present condition he was a hopeless beggar. He was created with a mind and heart to be like a Lamborghini. But in his present condition he was like a Lamborghini idling in a garage, running out of gas, degrading and waiting to be destroyed. He was created to be like a super computer. But now he was like a crashed, outdated computer. He needed to be set free. He needed to be healed, not just so that he can walk and get a job and support himself, but mostly so that he can know, with certainty that he was forgiven by God for his sins. Then he could begin a life glorifying God. He could have new joy, new love for God and other. He could be full of hope and encourage others. He would even find a vital role to play in the mission of God and in the church. He would bear so much wonderful spiritual fruit in his life and truly be a blessing to the whole world. This is God’s hope for this crippled beggar on the steps of the Temple.

Part 2. What I Have I Give You! (4-10)

      Verses 4-10, “And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.” (ESV)

     Peter understood him and said, ”Look at us!” The man expected some money, but Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk!” Peter gave Jesus and Jesus healed him completely. What the man really needed was not the money but Jesus who healed him in such a fundamental way. The man now began to walk praising God becoming a source of blessing for all who saw him.

Like the beggar, we think that we need something other than the Gospel to help us. Maybe more money, better education, activities for the young people, counselors, medical facilities etc. We must do need many things to help the people, I can not argue that. You can’t come up to a starving person and say, “accept Jesus” and not even give them something to eat. You can not tell the young people of the village to come to a VBS when they are needed to spend half their day fetching water. You need to solve the water problem.

 

But I think that point here is that Jesus and the Gospel is the most important thing to give to people. Just meeting the physical needs of people is unsustainable. There is such a thing as “donor fatigue”. The Gospel is the gift that God make sure keeps on giving. The other point is, is that we may not have anything material to give other to help them. Most are living paycheck to paycheck. We are not professional counselors. We are not pilots. We are not economic advisors or management consultants. We are not the heads of huge missions agencies or churches. No. We are mostly average everyday people who have a heart for the lost. What can we given to the people who we pray for?

 

From this passage we can see that we can give. Look at verse 6, “But Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’” Peter gave this paralyzed man the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. With faith in Jesus this man could be healed and rise up and walk. We can always give the name of Jesus. There is a way in Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. When Jesus wanted to heal the man born blind his healed him with spit and mud. When Jesus asked the disciples to feed the feed the 5,000 he did it through the faith of Andrew who offered up 5 loaves and 2 fish to Jesus by faith.

 

We have Jesus to share with all the people of the world. This is enough! What do I have to give to the scattered communities in the north? Not much. I can barely afford to travel there one time a year. I am not formally trained. I am not a counselor or a social worker. But I know Jesus. I know that in Jesus there is life, healing, hope, power and eternal life. Jesus wants me to offer what I can, but mostly offer the Gospel to a hurting and suffering people. All of our skills, talents and resources may be like Andrew’s five loaves and two fish. But offered up in faith, in Jesus’ name….God’s power will be unleashed to change lives and transform communities. Even if our resources are so small, God will still work through the power Jesus’ name. And this blessing is poured out continuously. There is no reason to not be a missionary to even the most difficult to reach people groups.

 

We can see the joy that salvation in Jesus brings not only to an individual, but also to a whole community. Look at verses 8-10 again. “And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.” When God works he brings life and joy to all the people. Jesus brings wonder and amazement to the all the people. God’s life giving work is so amazing. We are only looking at the tip of the iceberg concerning the work of God in the North. But we are already seeing the wonder and amazement in the faces of the people in the northern community, the people are the church, in our team and on the faces of the people at our home church. Even David S. said, “I can’t take anymore of this meticulous providence of God.” It was overwhelming what God is doing. Lord, thank you for bringing wonder and amazement into our hearts again. Thank you for reviving our hearts simply because people are working together to give people the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Continue to pour your blessing and heavenly joy on us all. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Prayer: Lord, help me and my fellow believers to offer the Gospel, as of first importance to a suffering people. Bring your blessing and joy to individuals and communities.

One Word: In the name of Jesus!




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