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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.
Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”
So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then 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.”
Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Acts 3:1-10
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever expected to receive something from someone and then get surprised when the gift you’re given is even better than you had hoped for?
I know I have and it’s such an amazing, blessed experience. I hope you can relate as you think of times in your own life when this may have happened.
Well in today’s scripture passage as we continue our study of the Book of Acts, moving into the third chapter, we find a lame beggar man end up with much more than he asked for, a beautiful gift that changed his life forever.
We read where the event occurred after Peter had delivered his message right after receiving the Holy Spirit, a message that led to nearly 3,000 people becoming Christians. On that day, Peter and John were about to enter through the temple gate called Beautiful in the city of Jerusalem. They were heading to the temple to pray and it was three in the afternoon.
Well, as the two disciples went to enter the gate, there they encountered a man who the scriptures tell us was “lame from birth”, so much so that he needed to be carried to the “Beautiful” gate every day so he could “beg from those going into the temple courts”. Seeing Peter and John, the man asks them for money and we read where Peter demands the man’s attention, looking straight at him and demanding, “Look at us!” The man did as Peter commanded and did so because he expected to get money from them. I’m sure he was thinking, “Sure, I’ll look at you as long as you throw some money my way.”
As we see, Peter had something else in mind after commanding the lame man’s attention. For we find the apostle say this to the begging man:
“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
The man had set the bar very low. He never thought for a moment on any one day that he begged that he would ever receive the gift of healing. Money was always his aim.
But what he didn’t know was that Peter and his fellow apostles weren’t just ordinary men any more. They were men given the very power Jesus possessed which included the power to heal. He had come to the Beautiful gate for money but ended up with a beautiful gift instead.
For after demanding the man walk while invoking the name of Jesus, Peter took the man by the right and helped him to his feet which had been strengthened along with his ankles. The man didn’t just stand up, he jumped up on his feet and immediately walked into the temple courts praising God every step of the way.
Imagine the looks on the people’s faces who were already in the temple. They had walked passed this man day after day after day, hearing his pleas for money. Now he was walking by them as he praised God for the miraculous gift of healing he had just received. The whole experience left all the temple worshippers “filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him”.
Friends, this is the God we serve. We ask Him for things we need and so often we find Him giving us something even better than we had ever hoped for. Such is His nature, the giver of every good, perfect, and yes, beautiful gift.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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