Acts 3:5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
It’s obvious from your recent responses that there are many hopeless Christians out there. This saddens me because there is no reason for any believer to be hopeless.
The Benefit of Hope is not only about spending eternity in Heaven. Although we absolutely have this hope and expectation, hope is for now, in our life on earth. Hope is for today, tomorrow, and every day we live. Hope is understanding and EXPECTING to live the abundant life Jesus spoke of in John 10:10. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
In the 3rd Chapter of Acts, we read of a man who was born lame. Every day, someone carried him to the Gate of the Temple, where they sat him on the ground to beg for food and money to survive. This was his life; day after day, the same routine. It was indeed hopeless.
But everything changed the day he saw Peter and John. The lame man knew these men were men of God, and all of a sudden his hopelessness turned to expectation! The Word does not tell us WHAT he expected from them, but it implies it was money. However, what he received was far greater than a few coins.
Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (Acts 3:1-10)
Peter and John represented the church. They had no money, but they had the Power of God to save, heal, and deliver. The church today has big buildings and a lot of money, but does it have the Power of God to REALLY change people? This man had been receiving money at the Gate of the Temple every day for his entire life, but did that money change him in any way? No. His life remained hopeless.
While it’s wonderful to help people in their time of need, it’s far, far greater to show them the Power of God in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and watch their condition change from hopelessness to expectation!
Today I say to you, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
The Name of Jesus will........turn the tide........in your life.
This I give you, Doreen
