Acts 3:1-10 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,[a] get up and[b] walk! Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded!
In story of the lame beggar, we see the two kinds of lives. One is that of the lame beggar. A life of no hope, no healing, being carried daily to the temple by some friends, settling for a few coins to feed him for the day. He has been living like that since birth. The second one is that of Peter and John. A life led by the Spirit and full of hope. They did not live for money but lived by faith in the name of Jesus. These two lives clashed at the gate of the temple called Beautiful. The lame beggar asked for money but the apostles gave them more than that. Peter later spoke and said that it was by faith in Jesus’ name that the man was healed.
How do you live your life? Are you spiritually lame, driven by the world to the house of God but not receiving what you really need but expecting God to only provide finance to help you through the day? Or are you led by the spirit into a faith-filled miraculous life? Here’s what will change your life. Jesus commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were baptized by the Spirit as was promised and then they will be his witnesses around the world. Holy Spirit baptism can turn your life around just as he did for the apostles.
Amen!
Amen!