Reading: Acts 3
This chapter has two main events.
- Peter and John healing a beggar who had been lame since birth.
- Peter addressing the on looking crowd.
The key thing that stands out to me from this chapter is actually less about what either Peter or John did or said and more about the power that they operated in and through.
They were totally convinced that if they called on the name of Jesus, something would happen. (Acts 3:12, Acts 3:16)
Peter makes it very clear that the healing of the lame beggar had little to do with him but had all to do with Jesus. It was through faith in the name of Jesus that the man wasn’t just made strong, but completely healed.
Wow!
Recently I visited a famous fish market in Seattle, Washington.
I’d never seen anything like it.
When you bought a fish, they threw it at you! With lots of people watching, the last thing you want to do is drop the fish you’ve just purchased. The man behind the counter said: “When you start buying, fish start flying.” And it would appear that people were buying fish simply for the thrill of catching it. The price had been paid, they just had to navigate receiving the item, which for some people took some preparation.
How often do we pray, yet never actually prepare for the answer?
We say we believe for something but never hold our hands out ready to actually receive God’s provision?
Thankfully for the lame beggar Peter and John weren’t like many of us. They fully believed that God could, and would heal this man and were prepared to see the fulfilment of this.
In the same way there was an expectation at the Pike Place Fish Market that if you bought a fish, it would start flying towards you, Peter and John knew If they called upon the name of Jesus, something would happen.
I want to remind you today just what power there is in the name of Jesus and just what can happen when we choose to operate in that power.
- What ever we ask for in His name will be given to us (John 14:13)
- If we call on the name of the Lord we will be saved (Romans 10:13)
- We are forgiven (Acts 2:38)
- We can see the sick made well (Acts 4:30)
- We have authority (Matthew 28:18)
- Every knee will bow at the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:9-11)
I wonder what today has in store for us if we make a choice to not operate in our own strength but actually choose to open ourselves up to be used by God.
Can you imagine the impact it would have on our neighbourhoods, in our workplaces, in our homes if we actually began to exercise an active faith and began to call on the name of Jesus to move the mountains in our lives and the lives of those who we encounter.
It would certainly get people talking that’s for sure, just as it did for Peter and John!
Perhaps today He wants to include you in someone else’s miracle!
Are you ready to step out in faith and receive?
Are you willing to lay down your own plans and purposes and begin to operate in the power that is found in Jesus!
Contributed by Ps Ed