Acts 3:1-10 is an account of Peter and John healing a man who had been crippled form birth. The healing in itself is a great thing. But, when I was reading it, I was struck by something different from it.
In verse 6, in response to the beggar's request for money, Peter says these words, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."
Peter knew what he didn't have, but he also knew what he did have. And he gave what he had to give to this man.
This led to realization about my own life as a follower of Christ. God doesn't ask me to give what I don't have to give. He doesn't ask you to either.
This doesn't mean we won't be asked to give sacrificially. Or beyond what we, in our human strength, think we're able to give.
But, whatever we are asked to give, it will be what God knows we have to give. Even if we don't think we have it.
In this account in Acts 3, Peter and John didn't have money to give to the beggar. But they didn't let that stop them from giving him something. They gave him healing, because they knew they could give him that.
It started me thinking about how I respond in times when what I'm asked for is something I know I don't have to give. Do I back away thinking I have nothing to give? Or do I look for other things that I have to give that can help in the situation?
And about those situations where, in my humanity, I don't feel like I have the ability to give what God is asking me to give. Will I trust that if God is asking me to give it, it's because He knows that in Him I do have it to give?
What about you?
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Choices
Choices.
Life is full of them.
Some of them are easy to make. And some are much more difficult.
I don't know if there's even a day that goes by where we don't have to make choices of some kind.
When we read Scripture we're presented with even more choices. God tells us what He wants, what His standards are, but He always leaves it as our choice whether we follow them.
Even once we've chosen to follow God, we're faced with choices. We still choose whether to obey what God says. We still choose whether to accept all that He is offering us.
And those choices in our walk as followers of Christ affect our experience as followers of Christ. And they can influence the way we see things in Scripture.
The reality is that all of life comes down to a series of choices. And that is particularly true of our walk with God. Choosing to follow God didn't suddenly turn us into robots who just do what we're supposed to do.
Recently, I've been challenged about the choices I make myself.
What will I make more important in my life?
Will I obey what God says even when it's hard?
Will I accept and welcome in my life all that God has given me?
What about you? How will you answer these questions?
Life is full of them.
Some of them are easy to make. And some are much more difficult.
I don't know if there's even a day that goes by where we don't have to make choices of some kind.
When we read Scripture we're presented with even more choices. God tells us what He wants, what His standards are, but He always leaves it as our choice whether we follow them.
Even once we've chosen to follow God, we're faced with choices. We still choose whether to obey what God says. We still choose whether to accept all that He is offering us.
And those choices in our walk as followers of Christ affect our experience as followers of Christ. And they can influence the way we see things in Scripture.
The reality is that all of life comes down to a series of choices. And that is particularly true of our walk with God. Choosing to follow God didn't suddenly turn us into robots who just do what we're supposed to do.
Recently, I've been challenged about the choices I make myself.
What will I make more important in my life?
Will I obey what God says even when it's hard?
Will I accept and welcome in my life all that God has given me?
What about you? How will you answer these questions?
Sunday, February 17, 2013
7 of my Favourite Scriptures
Last week I wrote a post about seven quotes that have impacted my life. It made me think about something I've read that is even more important and has impacted my life in a bigger way than those quotes.
It's God's Word I would be talking about. There's nothing quite like it in my life.
There's far more than seven verses that have impacted my life. But today I will share just seven of them that have had a big impact on how I live my life.
Peter is talking about how we should live our lives differently from the world around us. Live that should be different enough that those around us notice something is different. The way we live should make others wonder why we're different.
To me, it's a pretty simple reminder of how much God values each one of us and cares about the details of our lives. That's a great truth to hold onto. Especially when we may find it difficult to believe ourselves. Sometimes we have to read the truth before we begin to believe the truth.
These verses make it pretty clear that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from God's love for us. He is with us. He is on our side. We're not alone in whatever we may be going through.
What a relief to know that as followers of Christ we no longer stand condemned. We are forgiven and our condemnation is gone.
We will be convicted of things in our lives that aren't in line with what God has for us, but we're not condemned because of them. The price has been paid already.
God is the One who is at work in us to what He has for us to do. There are things we need to do as followers of Christ in obedience to Him. But the good thing is we don't have to do it completely in our own strength. God is at work in us so we can do these things.
God doesn't expect us to carry heavy burdens on our own. He invites us to take them to Him and give them to Him. He will give us something we can carry rather than the heavy load we have been carrying. Jesus gives us the rest we need when we take our burdens to Him.
We have no reason to fear anything.If God has asked us to do something, we can step out with the courage to do it. God will go with us every step of the way.
Those are just seven of the many verses God has used to speak to me in my life. There's definitely many more I could have chosen to use. Keeping this list to only seven was more difficult than trying to keep my list of quotes last week to only seven.
It's God's Word I would be talking about. There's nothing quite like it in my life.
There's far more than seven verses that have impacted my life. But today I will share just seven of them that have had a big impact on how I live my life.
Peter is talking about how we should live our lives differently from the world around us. Live that should be different enough that those around us notice something is different. The way we live should make others wonder why we're different.
To me, it's a pretty simple reminder of how much God values each one of us and cares about the details of our lives. That's a great truth to hold onto. Especially when we may find it difficult to believe ourselves. Sometimes we have to read the truth before we begin to believe the truth.
These verses make it pretty clear that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from God's love for us. He is with us. He is on our side. We're not alone in whatever we may be going through.
What a relief to know that as followers of Christ we no longer stand condemned. We are forgiven and our condemnation is gone.
We will be convicted of things in our lives that aren't in line with what God has for us, but we're not condemned because of them. The price has been paid already.
God is the One who is at work in us to what He has for us to do. There are things we need to do as followers of Christ in obedience to Him. But the good thing is we don't have to do it completely in our own strength. God is at work in us so we can do these things.
God doesn't expect us to carry heavy burdens on our own. He invites us to take them to Him and give them to Him. He will give us something we can carry rather than the heavy load we have been carrying. Jesus gives us the rest we need when we take our burdens to Him.
We have no reason to fear anything.If God has asked us to do something, we can step out with the courage to do it. God will go with us every step of the way.
Those are just seven of the many verses God has used to speak to me in my life. There's definitely many more I could have chosen to use. Keeping this list to only seven was more difficult than trying to keep my list of quotes last week to only seven.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)