There’s a story in the book of Acts where Peter and John encounter a lame beggar who spent his days at the Temple gate begging for charity. Day after day people walked by and saw his pitiful condition. Maybe they gave him a few coins. Maybe they didn’t. But either way, his situation never changed.
When Peter and John saw him, they had compassion for him. They had no silver or gold to offer him, but what they could offer was of much better value. They offered hope and healing in Jesus’ name. They offered the transformation of an extraordinary Savior.
The lame man was not quiet about what God had done in his life. He began walking, leaping, and praising God!
The people at the temple saw what was happening and they were astonished. Wasn’t this the guy they walked by every day who sat begging, unable to move? But look at him now! He was different, and they wanted to know what happened.
Jesus transforms lives and transformed lives get people’s attention.
It may not be a miraculous healing in your life that gets people’s attention. But as you grow in faith, and the fruit of the Spirit increases in your life, you will be different, and people will notice. And when they do, you will have the opportunity to tell them about Jesus.
After the healing of the lame man, people were paying attention and the message of salvation was gaining momentum. Many who heard believed, and the Jewish religious leaders were not happy, so they arrested Peter and John hoping to silence them.
When Peter and John stood before the leaders, threatened with imprisonment, they were asked directly in whose name they had healed the lame man.
Spirit-filled boldness
I wonder if at that moment Peter remembered Jesus had told him this day would come. That one day he would stand before rulers and authorities having to defend himself, and when he did, he would not need to worry about what he would say. It would not be his own eloquence (he was not eloquent) or his own courage (he had already denied Christ three times) that would enable him to speak boldly. It would be the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in him.
So, with Spirit-filled boldness, the once cowardly disciple proclaimed the name of Jesus to the very people who had sent Him to His death.
“Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. … There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:10-12 NLT
The leaders were amazed by the boldness of these ordinary men. They knew they had been with Jesus and could see something was different about them. They had been transformed by an extraordinary Savior.
How will you respond?
One day you might stand before authorities at your school or job, or in the government or courts. Your livelihood, freedom, and maybe even your life may be threatened. How will you respond?
Remember, you do not need to depend on your own eloquence or courage to proclaim the name of Jesus boldly. As a redeemed follower of Christ, you have the same Holy Spirit power that emboldened Peter, the rest of the disciples, and Christian martyrs throughout history.
You may be ordinary, but you have been transformed by an extraordinary Savior!
