Acts 4:1-3
1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.
(NAS)
The Apostles would be in jail a lot if they were present in the US today. That’s because they did not know what it meant to be politically correct. You can’t offend people with your beliefs or your ideals if you are a Christian. Our schools have made our children take off their religious T-shirts and my son was told He could not do a religious song for his school talent show when he was in elementary school. It has most of us second guessing when we can say something and when we cannot. The Apostles just didn’t worry about it. They had a message to get out and the told it like it was. It offended the political and religious leaders of their day and landed them in jail more than once. But it also led to large numbers of people coming to know Jesus. May I encourage you to share the truth about Jesus with as many people as you can in as many different settings as you can. Don’t concern yourselves with whether you are being politically correct or not. Share Jesus! If the Apostles could get through jail time, we can get through ridicule and accusation. Who knows how many people will respond and make Him Lord of their lives? Have a great week!
Acts 3:20-26
20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,
21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.
22 ”Moses said, ‘The Lord God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed in everything He says to you.
23 ’And it shall be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
24 ”And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days.
25 ”It is you who are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
26 ”For you first, God raised up His Servant, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
(NAS)
Peter wanted to make his point to those who would listen. There were consequences for rejecting Jesus. He was raised up for the purpose of bringing salvation to His people, but those who rejected Him would find themselves outside of the favor of God with no right to call themselves His people. What was required of those who would listen is repentance and acceptance. So many today are willing to accept Jesus and His gift of salvation, but few are willing to repent and turn from the things that take us away from God. Remember, there is no acceptance without repentance. When we embrace the message of Jesus we turn away from the message of the world. To be truly His is to reject what is wicked about ourselves. Consider in the Spirit what remains of the world in you and turn away from it! Look for the blessings of the Lord as you turn toward Him!
Acts 3:16-20
16 ”And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
17 ”And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.
18 ”But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
19 ”Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,
(NAS)
What we do in ignorance still requires are repentance. As a matter of fact, until we repent, there is no “times of refreshing”. God does not make exceptions even though we may not have known any better at the time we sinned. Even those who had Him put to death in ignorance are being called to repentance and renewal by Peter. By faith we accept what Jesus has done and by faith we receive forgiveness and healing. But a part of that faith is repentance. Turning away from my sin. Then comes the “times of refreshing”. I remember the night I accepted Christ and repented of my sins. I slept like a baby, guiltless and clean! Paul expresses it this way, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, behold old things have passed away, all things have become new.” Make sure you are operating with a clean slate and you have turned away from the sin that entangled you last week. If you haven’t, things will be the same old same old. If you have, look for the renewing refreshing presence of God this week!
Acts 3:11-15
11 And while he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.
12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
13 ”The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered up, and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.
14 ”But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
(NAS)
Peter and John could have gloated over the things that just happened. The people came running over to them because they perceived they were responsible for this healing. But they very quickley deflected the compliments and the flattery that ensued and pointed to the Savior. It is God that deserves all the credit, all the glory. Its so easy to take credit for things we did not accomplish on our own. Just last week I had the opportunity to sit with a young man who was ready to commit his life to the Lord. It would have been so easy to talk about how I prayed the prayer with Him and led him to the Lord. However, I really did no such thing. I was simply the tool in God’s hand that worked in this case to point this young man in the right direction. Don’t be so eager to take credit for what God does in your lives. Give Him the glory! Always point in His direction and give Him the credit due His name. That is exactly what Peter and John did and as a result of this many more would commit their lives to the Lord. We don’t want people to be dependent on us. We want them to find what they are looking for in the risen Lord. Have a great Day!
Acts 3:7-10
7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
8 And with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
(NAS)
It would have been great to be in that crowd that watched a man walk whom they had never seen walk before. It would have been unbelievable to see this man dancing and running and praising God at the top of His lungs. It would have been easy to be amazed if I was there in that place and saw all that. But I am not going to let the fact that I have never seen a lame man walk keep me from looking for the things that God will do in my life and around my life this week. We serve an amazing God who could surprise us at any time with an opportunity to touch a life that needs to be touched. I finished last weeks devotionals asking you to be prepared to give away what God has given you. You may not see the lame walk, but you may be the one God uses in someones life to bring them into a relationship with Him. Start the week with eyes for God’s handiwork around you. Be amazed at what you see Him doing! You never know when the lame will walk or the blind will see. After all, we know He is capable of doing more than all we think or believe can happen. So keep your eyes open!
Acts 3:1-6
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
2 And a certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
3 And when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.
4 And Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze upon him and said, “Look at us!”
5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene– walk!”
(NAS)
In life we run across the lame and the blind. There are people struggling with things everyday and we run into them in the course of doing life. I want you to know that Peter and James were going to worship when they came across this lame man. They probably saw him before since this was the only way this man could take care of his needs. He probably sat in the same place everyday doing what had to be done to live another day. Peter and James hadn’t won the lottery. They did not have a lot of money. They also did not have a personal relationship with this man so they did not have his ear. But what they did have was the annointing of God’s Spirit to look the man in the eye and command him to walk! Sometimes people look to us just to help them get through the day, but what they really need goes beyond the crippling effects of life. They need Jesus! Those of us who have a relationship with Jesus have been given differing gifts for the sake of the body. Like Peter and James, we may not have what outwardly the person beseeching us thinks he or she need. But what we do have is the annointing of God in His Spirit to give them what we do have. It may not be an annointing to heal, but in the name of Jesus it could be compassion or understanding. When you trip over people who have been set back by lifes ordeals, don’t get hung up on what they are asking for. Give them what you have! Jesus!
Acts 2:43-47
43 And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
44 And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common;
45 and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
46 And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
(NAS)
These people were serious about the Lord. They repented and began to walk toward the Lord away from their sin and it changed their lives. Look at what they were like! You are right to think that this is not normal behavior. People don’t sell everything they have and share it with others. People are naturally selfish, not so totally generous. This can only be accounted for in the changes the Holy Spirit brought into their lives. Instead of thinking about any ramifications they were so in love with the Lord that they couldn’t get enough fellowship, nor share enough of their possessions with those who had needs. This was a phenomenon in the Jerusalem Church that was not duplicated anywhere else that we know of. So we ought not to make this a standard for the church. But what we should see as standard for those who would repent and declare their allegiance to Jesus is a huge change about life, it’s priorities and it’s importance. When God gets a hold of you, you cannot get enough of Him or His ways. In short, there is nothing like a Spirit Filled Christian. Are You?
