One day at three o'clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were on their way into the Temple for prayer meeting. At the same time there was a man crippled from birth being carried up. Every day he was set down at the Temple gate, the one named Beautiful, to beg from those going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple, he asked for a handout. Peter, with John at his side, looked him straight in the eye and said, "Look here." He looked up, expecting to get something from them.
Peter said, "I don't have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!" He grabbed him by the right hand and pulled him up. In an instant his feet and ankles became firm. He jumped to his feet and walked.
I was just speaking with a coworker earlier today about people asking for handouts. How random that the next verses I was going to read in Acts were dealing with a similar story of a disabled beggar in the New Testament times!
When I visited a Swiss Avenue church plant on Wednesday night I met a young woman named Abby. When it came time for her to share about her current "petition" to the Lord, she began to talk and it quickly became clear that the Holy Spirit was actually the one speaking through her. The words she shared could barely roll off her tongue fast enough or with enough passion. She spoke of her desire, her burden, her task of spending time in God's presense with a desire to see an entire generation, no, an entire Nation come to know the Lord.
She spoke of her obedience to sit and pray. Pray and see what God will do. She was thoroughly convinced that God had called her to spend this time with Him and He will bring the people to her. People who need healing and prayer. They come to her door, they find her at work and school, she sees them. She prays for them. It was incredible to listen to her share.
This is the calling we have as Revolutionary Followers of Christ. We might not have worldly wealth; but we have something far greater that is available to us to use for Christ's glory. We have the power of God and His Holy Spirit in us. Look at this story from Acts. God hasn't changed since then. We can do these miraculous things, they happen a lot more than we might thing. Why are we afraid of it? It makes me nervous, I'll admit. But I think I would be more aprehensive if I wasn't nervous about the thought of healing a cripple. It's AWEsome (in the full sense of the word) to imagine. Let's pray expectantly and see what God will do.
0 comments:
Post a Comment