Acts 3: Thanksgiving
Welcome again once again to Grace Outpost. This past week I cut my finger bad enough to
warrant a trip to the Emergency Room, where they promptly Derma bonded my
finger back together. Needless to say
this has made for a tough week of getting anything done, as I have not been
able to use my index finger for much.
This past week was Thanksgiving and I hope that all of you had a great
holiday. At my house it didn’t feel much
like a holiday as my wife had to work and we decided not to cook the
traditional Thanksgiving meal. Normally
I have a swell of feelings of thankfulness for family and provision. This year that didn’t happen, perhaps it is
because we chose not to partake in the normal festivities. However, in the midst of this I came across
Acts 3, which reminded me that all I need is Jesus and he is at the center of
everything I give thanks for. So we are
going to put the Romans study on hold for this week.
As we turn to chapter 3 let me set the scene for you. This takes place after Pentecost and the
arrival of the Holy Spirit where Peter delivered a sermon that saw 3,000 people
decide to follow Jesus. It tells us that
during this time the believers were together everyday sharing meals and all of
their things. Essentially they were a family. So here in chapter 3 we have Peter and John
walking up to the temple for prayer.
1 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. 4 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. (Acts 3:1-10 ESV)
So in this account we have Peter, John, and a disabled
beggar who cannot walk. Peter and John
are headed to the temple for the hour of prayer, there were by no means the
only people passing by, they would have been in a throng of people. The beggar singles John and Peter out of the
crowd and asks for money. Peter and John
noticed him, over the din of the crowd they heard him and came to him. He asked them for money, but Peter healed him
through the Holy Spirit. I love
that. The man didn’t even consider that
his ailment could be reversed; he merely was trying to exist. God prompted Peter and John to address the
man’s need. I love his response; he
leaped up and praised God. He also went
into the temple with Peter and John.
For those of us who know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, this
is our story as well. We may not have
been healed in dramatic fashion, but the Author of life has reached into our
lives and addressed our deepest need. He
has offered us not only a pardon for our sins, but adoption into the family of
God. How truly wonderful?! I try to remind myself of this when things
get tough, when it seems like nothing is going right. Even on the worst day I am counted as righteous
because of Jesus and I am numbered amongst those who God calls his children!
This is a message not just for you reading this, but this
was mostly a message from God to me. I
have been pretty beat up this week and I was reminded through Scripture this
week of this great truth. I have a
feeling that it is a message that will resonate with many of you as well. Sometimes people paint the life of a
Christian as problem free, which is a lie.
What I can tell you is that when things get tough I have a friend in
Jesus who knows suffering and who walks alongside of me in love. I am thankful on the bad days and good days
for where I am.
“Lord thank you so
much for meeting us in our ultimate need and adopting us as your sons and
daughters. Lord I pray that every person
here reading this can rejoice and be thankful for what you have done for each
of them. Draw us closer to you and help
us to know your heart more. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”