Peter and John

 

Sincethe first of June, I’ve been sharing verses here on Sundays from the book ofActs. And just now, it dawned on me that I should back up that train.

Thefull name of this book of the Bible is the Book of the Acts of the Disciples.I’ve been writing mostly about what Paul did during this time, but there were otherspreaching with him and in other places without him.

You’veheard of the disciples Peter and John? Here’s one of their stories, from Acts chapter3, verses 1 through 16, from the Good News Translation.

One day Peter and John went to the Temple,and there at the Beautiful Gate, was a man who had been lame all his life.Every day he was carried to the gate to beg for money from the people who weregoing into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John going in, he begged them togive him something.

They looked straight at him, and Petersaid, “Look at us!” So he looked at them, expecting to get something from them.But Peter said to him, “I have no money at all, but I give you what I have: inthe name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I order you to get up and walk!”

Then he took him by his right hand andhelped him up. At once the man's feet and ankles became strong; he jumped up,stood on his feet, and started walking around. Then he went into the Templewith them, walking and jumping and praising God. The people there saw himwalking and praising God, and when they recognized him as the beggar who hadsat at the Beautiful Gate, they were all surprised and amazed at what hadhappened to him.

          As the man held on to Peter and John, thepeople were amazed and ran to them. When Peter saw the people, he said to them,“Fellow Israelites, why are you surprised at this, and why do you stare at us?Do you think that it was by means of our own power or godliness that we madethis man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors,has given divine glory to his Servant Jesus. But you handed him over to theauthorities, and you rejected him in Pilate's presence, even after Pilate haddecided to set him free. He was holy and good, but you rejected him, andinstead you asked Pilate to do you the favor of turning loose a murderer. Youkilled the one who leads to life, but God raised him from death—and we arewitnesses to this. It was the power of his name that gave strength to this lameman. What you see and know was done by faith in his name; it was faith in Jesusthat has made him well, as you can all see.”

 

Peterhad more to say, but then he and John were stopped by some Jewish leaders.

          

Peter and John were still speaking to thepeople when some priests, the officer in charge of the Temple guards, and someSadducees arrived. They were annoyed because the two apostles were teaching thepeople that Jesus had risen from death, which proved that the dead will rise tolife. So they arrested them and put them in jail until the next day, since itwas already late.(Acts 4, verses 1 through 3, Good News Translation)

Allof the disciples were arrested at various times for sharing their faith inJesus Christ. All of them except for John were killed for their actions.

Ourworld is getting more and more crazy every day. I wonder how long beforeChristians in this country start to be persecuted. I wonder how many of us woulddefend our beliefs if faced with death. God will grant us the strength; we onlyneed to turn our lives over to Him and ask for His help.

(This picture above was taken at Green Lake Christian Conference Center when I was there for the Writers Conference in 2011. I'm sure it's nothing like the gate where John and Peter met the lame man, but it still is a beautiful gate. )