Acts 3:1-10
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer - at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. ...Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." ...When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
When we examine the apostles of the early church, we'd find that none of them were famous characters. In fact, during their time, they were merely humble clay vessels who had no academic credential to do anything. Praise the Lord, however, because the key is not what they could do, but rather what's inside them.
First of all, we see that they had a caring heart. Many people were going in and out of the temple, busy with attending the ceremonies and praying for themselves, so who would have noticed the beggar sitting under the Beautiful gate? Verse four told us, however, that Peter and John stopped and paid full attention to him, wanted to really know what this person needed. Very often, when we preach the gospel, we just keep on talking, but seldom listen to what others are saying about their worries and difficulties. No matter how much we preach, they will always feel that we don't understand them. Also, when we preach the gospel, we seldom care about mental and physical needs of others, because we believe only followers of liberal theology talk about social work. Nevertheless, when Jesus was in the world, He didn't just talk about spiritual matters, but He always actively approached those in need; He cared about their soul, but He also cared about their body and mind. May God give us the same caring heart, and with it let us serve people around us, and we will see how the Lord accomplishes miraculous work by His own might.
Next, we saw that they understood how to leverage the authority of the Lord. That's why Peter could face the crippled beggar and told him confidently that, while he didn't have silver or gold, he had a precious Lord, who is the Lord of resurrection, authority and healing. Hallelujah! When we place ourselves in the hands of God, He will use us to become vessels for miracles.
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