Acts 3:1-10
The time of prayer was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and Peter and John were going into the temple. A man who had been born lame was being carried to the temple door. Each day he was placed beside this door, known as the Beautiful Gate. He sat there and begged from the people who were going in.
The man saw Peter and John entering the temple, and he asked them for money. But they looked straight at him and said, "Look up at us!" The man stared at them and thought he was going to get something. But Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold! But I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, get up and start walking." Peter then took him by the right hand and helped him up.
At once the man's feet and ankles became strong, and he jumped up and started walking. He went with Peter and John into the temple, walking and jumping and praising God. Everyone saw him walking around and praising God. They knew that he was the beggar who had been lying beside the Beautiful Gate, and they were completely surprised. They could not imagine what had happened to the man.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Do you know someone who seems stuck in a rut… doing the same things over and over again? Maybe you know someone who has changed jobs numerous times… or started more than one job and quit after several weeks. Maybe you know someone who is in and out of one relationship after another, and each time, they declare that “This one is different!” Maybe you know someone who seems perfectly comfortable to move from one fiasco to the next… who thrives on chaos and never seems to get his/her life together. Maybe this person is you!
Can I tell you something? Often, each one of us is the lame beggar at the door. We are comfortable and complacent in our present situation… content to live on the sidelines of life and manage whatever comes our way as best we can. If we “catch a lucky break,” things might improve for a while. But soon we are back to old habits and the familiar struggles and conflicts - and nothing really ever changes. It doesn’t have to be this way!
What Peter and John offered the beggar at the temple is available to all of us. All we have to do is ask. I’m not saying that calling on Jesus to fill us with the Holy Spirit and deliver us will make all of our problems go away immediately. I’m not telling you that all you have to do is give your heart to Jesus, and the right job, the perfect companion, and a clean bill of health will magically be yours. But when you ask, Jesus will equip you with the tools and skills you need to better your situation. The Holy Spirit will guide you as you pull your life together and make improvements. The healing power of Jesus can help you to manage your daily living and any physical, mental, and emotional challenges you encounter.
In many instances, the choice is completely ours. We can continue to live like the beggar at the temple gates, or we can call on Jesus to live and breathe in us and help us navigate the challenges of daily living. At once, it is this simple - and this complicated - because we will still have to do much of the work to improve our situation. Jesus will show us how… and give us everything we need to get the job done.
Where are you today? Have you invited Jesus to work in your life? Or are you content to lie by the wayside and beg for scraps and a handout? What are you believing Jesus for today?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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