Today's almost daily devotional is on
Peter and John find themselves in a little bit of a pickle. This is the first time that
they've been the brunt of the questions. They have seen Jesus many times being questioned by the religious authorities and by the civil authorities because of
the miracles that he performed. This
was the first time Peter and John had to
answer for a miracle, for a healing.
Remember yesterday in our devotion we heard about the healing of the crippled man.
We talked about just how miraculous that was, how surprising and unbelievable it was because this man had suffered a long time. Today, we hear the aftermath. Everybody
knows this man was healed by Peter and John. They want to know what is it? How did this
happen? What did you do?
Peter and John are able to give their testimony. They're able to talk about who God is and what God does for them in their lives. It is so remarkable because they talk about God and God's action in their life in a way that non-Christians can understand and in a way they
can hear.
Now one of the big knocks against Christians by people who are are non-christians or non-believers is we don't always back up what it is we say. We use words and then it doesn't appear like our actions match those words. Sometimes we use words that are hurtful or
harmful or exclusionary and so others can't understand what they mean.
It's a challenge for us as christians who want to witness to the power of God and who want to say: "This is how God has been active in my life this, is the power of a community of a church family of people who can support you through anything. A church family who will walk with you through times of trial."
It's a challenge in that we have to be able to back up those words. We have to be able to put actions and deeds and attitudes behind the words that we say. So when we say we're empowered by the Holy Spirit then it needs to look like we're empowered by the Holy Spirit.
if we're gonna be people who comfort then it needs to be obvious, it needs to be something where people say "hey you're comforting. You brought comfort to this person. What happened? What power did you have to do that?"
I think we're a little shy. We're a little too humble, sometimes. We're afraid we are going
to say the wrong words and we're going to mess up. We are afraid we may not say what it is that God wants us to say in that moment.
The honest truth is if we're open to the power of the spirit, we're open to the words that God puts in our hearts, and we are doing the actions and developing relationships then it's not about us. In the end, we are the vessel. It's about the power of the holy spirit working through us.
God Bless.