June 10
Bible Reading: Acts 3:1-8
Acts 3:7-8, “And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.”
Peter and John were going up to the temple, the lame beggar was going nowhere without help. Legs are made for walking, but since his birth, he had never taken a step. He was reliant on others to carry him to the Beautiful Gate, where his job was to beg for alms. It was the same routine, day-after-day, begging from others so that he could get enough to eat. One can only imagine the extent of his despair and hopelessness. The gate may have been beautiful, but his life was anything but that. He begged at a strategic location, for would-be worshippers making their way to the temple, and glad for the opportunity to do some good deed, were more likely to give to a beggar. Unlike the beggar, their legs were functional, but they were disabled in another way, as they could walk to the temple but couldn’t reach God. Unbeknownst to the beggar, or to those passing by, God was working to change all that.
It was a day like any other, and Peter and John looked like everybody else, but the beggar’s life was soon to radically change for the better. Peter and John had no silver or gold to give the man, but Jesus worked through them to give him something far better, something way beyond on what he asked for or thought possible (Ephesians 3:20). Jesus used Peter and John as instruments to instantly and perfectly heal him. Having been healed, he began to walk, and then “entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God” (Acts 3:8). Jesus reached down from heaven and instantly healed the long-time beggar, who was then seen by the crowd to be jumping for joy, creating quite the spectacle! It was Jesus’ first miracle from heaven, and it gave an opportunity for Peter to explain how it happened. He preached his sermon and five thousand believed in Jesus. They had gone to the temple of God to worship, but Jesus restored them to the God of the temple.
There was a day when you heard and believed the message of the gospel. You may not have been physically lame, but sin had debilitated you from knowing and worshipping God. You were born again, and your soul jumped for joy in response. We have every reason to rejoice in the Lord, as the Spirit leads us to “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8). To the extent that He is leading us, we too are “jumping for joy” in Jesus. It’s when we focus on ourselves and our troubles that we get mired in despair. In Jesus, you’ve always reason to rejoice, no matter your circumstances. Just as with the lame beggar, Jesus worked to lift you up from your sin disability. Don’t be afraid to jump for joy in Jesus, others might see and wonder why!
“Seek to cultivate a buoyant, joyous sense of the crowded kindnesses of God in your daily life.” – Alexander MacLaren
I WILL SING OF MY REDEEMER
I will sing of my Redeemer
and his wondrous love to me;
on the cruel cross he suffered,
from the curse to set me free.
Sing, O sing of my Redeemer!
With his blood he purchased me;
on the cross he sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free.
I will tell the wondrous story,
how my lost estate to save,
in his boundless love and mercy,
he the ransom freely gave.
I will praise my dear Redeemer,
his triumphant power I’ll tell:
how the victory he gives me
over sin and death and hell.
I will sing of my Redeemer
and his heavenly love for me;
he from death to life has brought me,
Son of God, with him to be.
Sing, O sing of my Redeemer!
With his blood he purchased me;
on the cross he sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free.
LookingtoJesus 