The Lame Beggar Healed
3:1 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.
Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico
11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” (ESV)
I think the way that Peter went about this was so awesome!! The people looked at him in amazement and were struck with awe for what he had just done but what he did was so legiT. He could have easily taken all of the credit and said that what he had done was all from his own power and might. But not that is not what he did at all what he did was use this event to point all glory to God and use it to tell the people about God and how they are sinners and need to repent of their sins! I think that it is so easy to take all the credit for something that we have done in our lives and put all the glory to ourselves. But what we need to be doing is exactly what Peter has done instead of pointing all of the glory to ourselves we need to use the opportunity to point all of the praise to God and use it as an evangelistic chance to share the gospel with them!!!!
Right on Zach!
Acts 3:19-21 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.
The entire bible delivers this one message: turn from sin and to Jesus, God/man, Savior and Sacrifice. Do what it says and live! Or do not and suffer the consequences of our sin which is eternal torment in the lake of fire. Don’t you think people should hear about this before it’s too late? He is coming soon so time is short! Lord, please send me and all TNers to tell people today.
Miss seeing you around Mr. Hosford! Awesome comment! You always have comments that glorify the Lord Jesus Christ!
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!”
Jesus Christ is the best gift anyone can ever receive. He is forever. He is our best friend who will never leave us. He walks by our side every day and when times are tough, He carries us. Maranatha! This day will be lived for Jesus Christ, no matter what happens to me in this awful world!
26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.
God has sent Jesus so that we would turn from our sins and follow Him. Get behind me satan! Jesus is my Lord and I am 100% on God’s team.
19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,
My sins were blotted out! How awesome is that? Christ bore my sins on the cross so that I could be counted as righteous. After turning to Christ in repentance, my sins were completely taken away, no longer to be counted against me. The wrath of God was satisfied and he could now look on me as his child! How amazing! Without the forgiveness of sins, I could never have a relationship with the Father. I’m so thankful for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the grace that has been given me. Jesus has paid the price, let’s make sure we are spreading this Good News to others!
18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out
Peter is speaking of how God foretold time and time again in the Old Testament through the prophets about Jesus. That he would come into the world, we would suffer, be killed by the ones he came to save, and conquer death through resurrection. And Peter is proclaiming that indeed Christ did come, and he fulfilled all that God had said would happen. And then Peter directs them to therefore repent of their sins and turn away from the way of the world. For through repentance, all one’s sins will be blotted out.
To have all my sins blotted out is beyond words! When I think blotted out, I think White Out. I may be writing on some important paper with a nice pen and I make a mistake. I get the White Out and blot out all the traces of my mistake. By the time it dries, I can’t see my mistake. And though I have sinned time after time, in repentance I can turn to God and he will blot out my sins. I don’t have to live with the guilt for anything bad that I have done. However, this does not give me freedom to live in sin and abuse the forgiveness of God. I need to always be striving for righteousness, and when I stumble, I need to repent and get back up in fighting sin and pursuing righteousness!
19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out.
I like how the disciples, in the beginning of the chapter, were so honest with the fact that what they had accomplished was not of them, but of Christ, the guy whom the people he was talking to had murdered on the cross. The way those disciples speak is something I would love to acquire. They were purely honest and up front stated that nothing of what they just did was their own work. They knew that they were only able to do these things through Christ, and they gave Him all the Glory, Honor, and Power. To some extent, I feel that this is reflecting back to Pastor Bobby’s message..we can’t stand alone in this walk, and we don’t have to. Because we have Christ on our side. :)
great chapter
8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
I love the leper’s response to his healing…excitement and praise for God. It got me thinking about my response when God answers my prayers in the way I have asked Him. Do I spend years praying for something, like I am sure the leper did for his healing, and then just throw up a quick “thanks” to God. Or do I passionately thank God and give Him the glory to others when He answers me and grants me my request? Do I even give myself the credit when a request is granted, acting like I earned it or deserved it? This verse was a good reminder for me to take time today to go through my prayer journal and praise God for the many, many answers He has given me over the past month. God deserves to be given all of the praise and glory for any good thing He has done in my life!
What struck me about this entire chapter was Peter’s knowledge about the Old Testament! He is quoting it like CRAZY! And Peter wasn’t a Pharisee like the apostle Paul. He didn’t go to Bible time seminary. He was a fisherman! This means that Peter got into the Word, BIG TIME. I don’t know about you, but I don’t get into the OT or the NT like I should! Peter was ready to do what it takes to present a gospel message to the Jewish people. And that was to read the OT and quote the verses that talked about the gospel. I would do well to learn from Peter’s example and to study the Word, that I too may be equipped to do the Lord’s work!
SOLID observation, Cameron! God is not being tongue-in-cheek when He advises us to crave His Word and Truth with an insatiable appetite…like a newborn baby cries for his mama’s milk. It must be our sustenance, our source of continued life, the carrot dangling before us as an inspiration and reward to strive, thrive, and live for. The building blocks of our proteins, bones, muscles, blood supply, our body’s defense system, our nerve synapses, and brain chemistry.
God’s Word is the hand-picked, choice information that He, Himself, chose to reveal to us in the BIBLE: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. He communicates His character, He makes known to us the solidarity of Who He is and the sinners that we are. He urges us to become aware of and choose His Son, our Savior. He warns us of the inevitable consequences that we will contend with before this life is over. He gives us safeguards. He gives us promises and testimonies across generations that give credence to His Words. And He gives us His Holy Spirit to bear witness in and through us our OWN testimony, that-if we are tracking with Him-gives FURTHER evidence of this same testimony we study and meditate on, which yields a solid, immovable faith in Him that He sustains in us by His Holy Spirit. That is, should we receive the faith that He lays out before us and stands knocking at the door of our hearts to give us.
It’s BEAUTIFUL…it’s the greatest Love Story. And it’s REAL.
Good point Cameron, I need to do that too!
14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One,…
This first part of verse 14 stood out to me. In a part of my life am I denying Him, or rejecting Him. Or am I giving Him praise in all that I do. Quoting @jacobantoun2010 favorite verse, I need to live a 1-1-6 life(For those who don’t know that means Romans 1:16). I should not be ashamed or reject God in any aspect of my life. He gave me my gifts and placed me here for a reason. Praise the Lord for all He has done! :]
ELLO… I read
I like verse 12,”And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?”
I like this verse because it talks about Peter giving the Glory to GOD. instead of being all prideful and trying to get attention to themselves the apostles asked why do you think we did this? They gave all the GLORY to GOD and did not make anyone in that area think that they did it. I need to make sure that whenever I do something good not to glorify myself but to make sure that I give GOD the glory.
CYA
I want to “highlight” this entire scripture!! How knarly would it be to see a lame man get up and walk! , To be told by PETER!! That we have commited a murder … K sorry I have to copy and paste this!!
Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
Can you imagine standing there and hearing this, I know how I feel reading it. The Bible is absolutly amazing, we have this Book that lets us see, and feel the absolute truth. What a privilage!! Are you taking it for granted? I know I did for awhile, everything you need to know is at your finger tips. What an HONOR!
18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out.
I wonder how many times in the Bible it tells you what you need to know to be saved.. seriously, Bobby, Ben? Its crazy, people of this world wonder around and ponder.. “What am I here for? Whats the purpose” READ THE BIBLE DUDE!!! I thank our heavenly Father that he chose me and opned his word to me, so that I might know him better each day. I am here to make Him shine, to make disciples for Him, I am here in complete surrender to Him, to do His will not mine. I thank him for being so merciful and blotting out my sins.
S
Sharon–I, TOO, find myself wanting to highlight the entire chapter. There is so MUCH God gives us in His Word. It’s quite humbling…
19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,
I love how Peter takes this opportunity to share the gospel with all of the people who are gathering around and marveling at the healing that has taken place. He gives all of the credit to Christ and then tells the people how they can get right with Him. It’s an amazing thing to know that Jesus has blotted out all of my sin. I’m free from condemnation thanks to Christ and what He did on the cross. Praise God!
19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,
The line about our sins being blotted out stood out to me. It reminded me of a song we sing in True North: “Our shame was deeper than the sea, Your grace is deeper still.” Even though my shame is great, all of my sins have been blotted out because of the blood of Jesus Christ!
Another thing that stood out to me was the simple yet worshipful response of the healed beggar. He was going around the temple praising God! If all of my sins have been washed away, how much more should I go through my life praising God for all that he has done for me!
a lot more. : p
I agree — great post!
that was convicting, I need to share the Gospel more!
When I think back at Jesus’ crucifixion, I think about alll those Jews who thought that Jesus was getting completely humiliated, that He was being stumbled and brought down. Jesus was humble throughout all of it..that’s incredible. If I knew I was the savior of the world or something, I would be like “hey guys! You shouldn’t be killing your savior but you know, your loss!” and I’d stick out my tongue. XD haha I guess that’s why I’m not God right? I am definitely a sinner, not deserving any attention from Him but I get it everyday. It fascinates me…Allll the Jews..all those people who wanted to kill Him..look at how much glory He has received since then. Just His death in itself has given Him glory! They didn’t even know either that in the future, millions of people would be bowing down to Jesus…and not just millions, that they themselves will be bowing down to Him one day and professing that Jesus Christ is Lord. It’s a powerful thing to think about! God’s name will be glorified and He will be praised for forever! So awesome. Praise the Lord for the life He gives me today and that I can boast about Him. :) Maranatha.
Mmmmm, feelin’ this Bethany!!!!! We serve an awesome God.
Praying, praying, reading, reading, praising, praising, B, great, great comment! God is good!
This is the first Scripture of the Day that I have really looked into and tried my best to analyze, and your response really helped me understand better!
& We do have such an awesome God!!
Great to see you on SOTD Kailey, love ya gurlll!! :D
Great Comment!!! :D
“God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
God did an amazing work on the cross… to the point where it is really unbelievable. Our God is amazing.
God is definitely amazing Jeremy, amen to that!! d:-/
2 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
I love how Peter uses this miracle to direct the attention to God and to start preaching the gospel. People all around the world are trying to sell you some book on how to make yourself pious or how to make yourself happy. But Peter is saying he is only able to do ANYTHING because of God and His Son Jesus Christ!
19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,
Its really cool how Peter is always sharing the gospel and letting the people know about the real truth.
“…when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?”
Peter is bold, and I noticed his first action after the man was healed, addressing the situation and giving God the glory publicly. Something miraculous happens, and Peter, not full of himself, filled with the Holy Spirit, humbles himself before all the people, and stops and gives God the credit.
Doesn’t he know that he is speaking to the people that just killed Jesus? And isn’t he saying the same thing Jesus did? Peter is bold! I want to be bold like that!
Lord, give me courage and boldness like a lion, to preach the Gospel fearlessly every day, and to stop always and give you the glory. Amen!
You said, “…and to stop always and give You the glory. Amen!”
I am so glad you recognize this very critical component in receiving the fullness of our relationship in Christ. He indeed means to have that intimate time of ours, where we reflect on and bask in. Where, in the silence and personal communion, we can celebrate and deepen the confidence we have in this unable-to-be-likened, One-and-Only God of love.
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!”
DECLARATION OF FAITH:
What an incredible declaration of faith. Peter makes no claim that HE HIMSELF has anything to offer. This is a necessary mindset. It leaves no room to mistake PETER as contributing to the saving or healing of this man. Peter is immediate to reflect Jesus Christ as the Healer. All Peter is, is a vessel for Christ to minister to and heal others through.
NO SELFISH HOARDING, ONLY GENEROSITY:
Peter first makes clear that he does not have what the man initially asks for. No sugar-coating, no baiting, no deceit. He moves on to say that he DOES have SOMEthing, though, and what he DOES have, he gives it right over to the man. Holding nothing back. I love this. What an incredible reminder that NOTHING we have is for us to hold onto. No talent, no time, no money, no French fries, even. I say French fries, because I love French fries. And I always find myself kinda being stingy when I share my fries. BUT THEY’RE NOT EVEN MINE. Everything I have is GOD’S ON LOAN. And it’s an INVESTMENT He makes in me, so that I can bring Him back MORE for His return. And I am speaking of souls. We have been set in motion as fishers of men. Very powerful and convicting.
UNWAIVERING BELIEF:
Peter has studied, learned, and drawn the line in the sand to believe that God heals, no matter the cost. And it is FAITH that leads to our healing. It starts with a belief. And the basic claim in our minds turns into a will. In German, the root word “will” means to want or desire intensely. When we put the full intensity of our desires-to be healed and saved-into Jesus Christ, we make the decision that there is nothing we won’t give or do (or NOT do) to obstruct us from having what we INTENSELY desire or want. We become STRONG in our WILL. I love it. But it must be CLEAR, that this decision to give forth our EVERYTHING is directed toward Christ. We forsake ourselves, and we live solely for God. There can be nothing He commands or calls us to do that isn’t worth the healing we intensely desire or want, with ALL that we are and were created to be.
Yess I agree Stacy! :) I liked what you said about Peter’s humility, and declaration of faith in Christ as the Healer.
This was a great and extremely in depth comment Stacy! You made a great point in saying that nothing is ours, EVERYTHING we have is the Lords, even the little things. It really put it into perspective for me.I loved your french fries analogy too, I think everyone can realate to something of that nature. THanks Stacy! Its awesome to see the Lord working in you!
26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
Genuine repentance leads to blesssing. Ultimately the promise is for eternal life and avoiding eternal punishment, but there is also blessing for God’s people here and now. As most of us know, God’s blessing doesn’t mean that all my circumstances will be perfect or that my life will necessarily be easy. We have learned this semester that our lives will actually get harder as we stand out as different to those around us and fight back against Satan attacks. However, despite the trials we have to face, God’s blessing will lead to a deep sense of well being, contentment, and joy. I am thankful for that!
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!”
This verse encouraged me to be more bold in my obedience to Jesus Christ. Peter and John were not timid when they healed this man; they were bold and confident because they knew that their God is faithful. I need to remember that God is faithful and He will work through me if I have faith in Him. He wants His will done and His name glorified, why would He not be faithful to do this through me?
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!”
I really liked this verse because it pinpoints Gods miracles. Today, I dont recognize miracles as much as I should. When I think of miracles I think of Jesus touching someone and bringing them back to life. Its important to notice and be thankful for all the miracles and blessings God has given me, even though there not necessarily like other miracles I read about in the bible. I usually dont really notice miracles till` there taken away, so Im going to work on noticing them and praising God for them! I pray that God will help me to be thankful for all the great things He has given to me and that I would cherish them before they are taken away! :)
I love reading about the boldness of the early apostles!! Peter just straight up rebuked the jews for their amazement in their “actions” when they should have been amazed in God’s power!! Peter dared to tell them that they murdered Christ and continued to share the gospel truth!! These are great examples of people on fire for the Lord!! That’s what I call fervor!! My prayer is that I would have a fervor for the Lord as Peter and the others had in this chapter so that others at Aliso Niguel High School may repent and put their faith in Christ!! :D
Good morning!!
What a beautiful morning it is!
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.
Here are two great and awesome verses. I really can’t say much about these. I mean just read them. They obviously “shout” out that Jesus Christ is the all Holy and Loving and Powerful God and He can do anything! Gosh I love these verses!
Everytime I hear about miracles I become more amayzed of how powerful God is!! He is strong and mighty!! There are none like Him!!! Remembering this gives me a reassurance of how powerful my Savior is!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maranatha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
It was because the lame begger had faith that he was able to walk. Peter and John had nothing to do with his healing except that they provided him the time to put his faith in Christ. If we have faith in God, we will be able to dp anything we set our minds to. Through Jesus Christ, all things are now possible.
God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” (ESV)
Its amazing to think how those 1st Century Jews lived with Jesus and saw him perform miracles and still not get who Jesus really was. But then again it took me 25 years to become a Christian even though I grew up with legit Christian parents who lived what they preached. The sad part is there people here at True North who will miss out on the Kingdom of God even though they spent many Sunday listening to Pastor Bobby preaching the Word. Its not enough to bear hearers of the Word. We need to take what we hear and apply it to our lives. I am so thankful that Jesus was patience with me and saved me, even thought I rejected His teaching for many years. I serve a wonderful and amazing Lord!
19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out
Repent, repent, repent. In Bible Lit we’ve been talking about Christ, his claims and such and we were asked “What was His Boldest claim?” To which I answer “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE light, NO ONE comes to the Father except through me” and the only way to go through Him is to repent. A bold claim, a TRUE claim, the most important thing that has happened in my life, repentance. My sin blotted out and my passage to Heaven secure PRAISE GOD!
LegiT comment broski gazzel
19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out
Most people think that they are saved by that little prayer of asking God into their hearts when they were 5. Then as they grow up they fall into sin but they are misled and still think they are Christians. The Bible clearly states that believes is an action of trust and that we also have to repent of our sins and be constant in our trust in Him. Its not just a ‘love you God, hope I make it to heaven’ relationship. Its terrible to think that people thing that, because obviously they have had no truthfull Biblical training. I need to be helping people understand that they have to repend and have faith to be a Christian. I am here to make sure that the people around me know that, I better not shoot an oppertunity down.
mmmmm this chapter is awesome!! look at the things that Peter is doing for Christ! First off, he makes a lame man walk, which is a huge deal! But instead of just taking all the credit, he gives Jesus Christ all the glory. Acts 3:6 ‘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!”’ Peter knows that he can doing nothing except through Christ!! Its awesome how he acknowledges this in front of all of these people. Peter is definitely reppin a 116 lifestyle! I need to learn from Peter’s example, and give Jesus Christ all the glory for everything that I do. People need to know that it is only through him that I, or any of us can do anything :)
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.
I love the story of the lame beggar being healed! This verse reminds me that through Jesus Christ nothing is impossible. Peter did not have any silver or gold to give to the beggar, but he had something so much more better. He had the ability to heal the beggar through Jesus and make him strong. God can do that to us too. He can strengthen us in our weaknesses if we just put our trust 100% in him. Peter was living for Jesus Christ and was glorifying him in everything he did!
I wish that i could have been there to see Peter heal the beggar! Come to think of it, it would be so cool to be used by the Lord like that! Peter was righteous enough to be used and like Destyni said, God can strenghtehn our weaknesses and he can heal us! Just think, God HEALED THE MAN COMPLETELY! I feel like i skim through the miracles of Jesus because i already know them but i need to take time and think about what He really did because His actions were utterly incredible! They were actions that I cant even begin to imagine viewing- let alone knowing He raised HIS OWN SELF from the dead. Its just something i like to take time to think about because Hes so important!
Maranatha!
8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
I love this! I feel like this is the illustration of our spirits when we become Christians… its like this huge weight is lifted and we can praise God with everything. I know I felt so awful for what I had done but I had never been so grateful for anything because I knew how much I couldn’t do it on my own! Oh praise the One who paid my debt!
18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,
It is so awesome that God forgives us of our sins and that his gift of grace is available to everyone.
19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out…
This is the 180 degree turn from your sin to Christianity. When we are living in our sinful bodies and drowning in our sinful desires, God wants us to turn away and HE will clean our sins. We need to let HIM do what He needs to do and we need to realize that we CAN’T do it on our own.
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.
I really liked this verse because it really made me think how this man was just so over joyed that he could walk, he was leaping and praising God! Like Pastor Ben said, we should be just so over joyed as well because we have been given forgiveness from our sins and our debt has been paid!
I also really though about this verse and it made me think how most people go out in their lives as “seeing is believing” When people saw this man up and walking and LEAPING when they say him earlier as a lame man, they wanted to go check out what was going on. Sadly though, most people now are the same way, only believing in what they see. I pray that God would just be using me to further his kingdom and that I would be reppin Christ to the fullest so that people can really see the work God is doing in my life!
Great Chapter!
14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
This verse makes me wonder if i deny my God. Do i deny the Lord my God when i am in public? People know that i am a christian but to others do i speak up and witness? I feel when i dont witness, i am denying God because i feel i dont have the power. Clearly God gives us the power to do anything that is pleasing to Him and gives us the power to spread the truth! When i get nervous or stop talking, i need to remember that the Holy Spirit speaks through me and i can do anything through Christ who strengthens me! (:
26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
Great verse! God raised up his son and sent him to be one of us. He sent his own son to bless us by dying on the cross for our sake. Through this He gave us the opportunity to repent and turn away from our sins so we can live a righteous, perfect life in Heaven with our Savior, Jesus Christ! I am definitely taking up his offer and i cannot wait till i am with Him(:
16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
Peter didn’t take the credit for healing the crippled man because it was God who did!!!! Peter directed all the people’s focus on God and how awesome and powerful He is and how He sent Jesus to die for them!!!So instead of taking the praise, Peter directed it all onto God and shared the gospel! That is so cool and something I want to make sure I am doing all day, especially at school. I want to be praising God for what He has done and I want others to see how awesome God is when I am talking to them.
Great point Haley! All glory to God! Thanks for serving with us tonight!
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,
Other people saw this man praising God in an undeniable way becuse of the work that God did to heal him. This made me think, do people see me praising God unashamed because of the healing He has done in my heart? I love the picture of this man, that since the work of God was so incredible He had to tell those around Him. This should be me and all of us who profess Christ as Lord and Savior. “Walking and leaping and praising God.” this image is one which I want to emulte, for God has blotted out my sin and attributed His own righteousness to my account. The Lord He is God!
Loved this chapter!
I read…
This chapter was a great example of getting straight to the point and not holding back the truth. In this chapter, Peter was preaching to the Jews and was telling them that they crucified Jesus and needed to repent. We need to be like Peter in not holding back truth as we preach the Gospel.
Acts 3:23
22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’
In verse 22 Peter is quoting Deuteronomy 18:15
Deut 18:15 15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers it is to him you shall listen
In verse 23 Peter is quoting from another verse in Deuteronomy 18:19
Deut 18:19 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
Very powerful prophetic references to what Moses said over a thousand years prior to Jesus birth. There is no book in human history that has predictive prophecy like we have in our Bible (the word of God). Thank you Lord for giving us all of the proof that we would need to validate your writings as Truth.
26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
Peter can preach! What an awesome thought that because of the resurrection of Jesus we can have a new way of life!
Excited to preach at True North this weekend! Praying God will work new life in people through his Word!
19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out
It is so amazing that in Jesus Christ we can have our sins erased! I know that this is a one time event when I repented of my sin through faith and received new life, but this verse was encouraging to me today that I need to continually live repentant. I don’t want to dwell in any sin, but when I do sin to quickly turn from it to the Lord, confess it and be forgiven like 1 John 1:9 promises.
12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
Peter could have so easily taken the credit for healing this man, and everyone would have praise HIM. Yet Peter instead gave the Glory to God, because it was God who had done it, he had simply just used Peter for his work. It takes some serious humility to pass up a self-glorifying moment like Peter did here. I want to have this same kind of humility in everything I do, especially when God uses me to do his will! Sure, God isn’t going to use me to heal people that can’t walk, but I know he will use me for other things like preaching his word or serving others. I need to give ALL the glory to Him!! It is so easy to feel prideful, but I need to fight any of that sin that arises in me. I am praying that God will really help me to have a humble heart that gives him the Glory!
12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
This verse offers a powerful example of the type of humility we’ve been talking about recently in True North. Peter is quick to give God all the glory for the miracle he performs; he boldly proclaims Christ’s name and power, and makes a plea for those assembled to repent and put their faith in the Lord. My mode of operation should be the same. I need to always give God full glory for the successes I have in life and turn those moments into opportunities to evangelize and spread the good news. I pray that God will bring many opportunities this summer for me and everyone else at TN to tell others about His grace and love.