September 20, 2024 - Acts 3-6

The man at the temple healed by Peter and John.  “And all the people saw him walking and praising God . . . And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him” (3:9,10).  Peter responded:  “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made them walk?  The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus . . . And his name – by faith in his name – has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all” (3:12-16).

Am I being too irreverent to observe, “When Jesus shows up, amazing things happen!”  And, in fact, the entire book of Acts is the story of the early church and the amazing things that Jesus did by his Holy Spirit and through his apostles.  The boldness of the  disciples.  Signs and wonders.    The disciples sharing with one another.  Ananias and Sapphira.  Multitudes healed.  The apostles imprisoned and miraculously freed.  The choosing of the deacons.  Stephen, full of grace and power.  An amazing read!

Jesus, the Name high over all,

in hell or earth or sky;

angels and mortals prostrate fall,

and devils fear and fly.

Jesus, the Name to sinners dear,

the Name to sinners giv’n;

it scatters all their guilty fear,

it turns their hell to heav’n.   -- Charles Wesley (1749)