(Pic credit: http://theprosperityproject.blogspot.com/2011/02/beggars-rags.html)
So as I was doing some random reading in Acts, I came across just a little story/scenario at the beginning of Chapter 3 about when Peter healed a beggar in the name of Jesus. Here is the real text:
"Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.
4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,[a] get up and[b] walk!”
7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John."
Okay so this is not one of those stories that does not require that much deep interpretation but instead a little shift of perspective. After you read the original text, read it below as it relates to you and me now. I'm replacing the word beggar and his description to one that better fits you and me:
But the beggar is better off than we are in this case! When Peter and John come forth to heal him by the power of God, the beggar rejoices and then enters the temple. But does the beggar return to his post to become sick again, low in spirit and faith? Absolutely not! The beggar rejoices and praises God even "singing" and "leaping"! After that he "[held] tightly to Peter and John".
That is the mirror image of what God wants. When God found us we were lame and sitting outside of His kingdom begging for mercy, grace, forgiveness and healing from our inner human illnesses. Then here comes God walking up and demands us to "get up and walk" and this is where the road either goes His way or ours. We either say, "You know what God, go ahead in, I'm fine right here today thank you", or we actually get up and follow Him in. Say we do that and follow Him in and upon doing that we are in with God at this point. We forget that when He holds us He doesn't let go but what do some of us do? We slowly fade and stray away and go hang out at the punch bowl. Then before we know it we open up the doors to His house, we exit and go sit back outside the gates again and begin to beg and plead for someone other than the Savior inside to heal us from our brokenness. So out walks Jesus and pulls us back in, and we just go right back outside and sit again and again. If I were God, I wouldn't have patience for myself and countless other Christians that do that. But thank goodness I am not the Judge. God has grace. The beautiful thing is that no matter how many times we go back outside he leaves His kingdom to come bring us back in continually, picks us up off our feet, and walks us back inside knowing we will be right back out there again. He doesn't mind though because he loves us lame, sick hearted humans. He just knows that we fail and need His hand guiding us back in a whole lot and that's what His grace does for us and that is why the love of Jesus is so beautiful. No matter how many times we go sit back outside the beautiful gate of His heart He always walks us right back into His presence.
So all we have to do is to learn how to stay inside longer. We have to learn the unfailing love of Christ. We have to do more of the "walking, leaping and praising" and less of the running back outside. We have to realize that His love never fails and that even if we feel like we failed Him and belong outside of that gate we actually always belong inside of His temple with Him because we are no longer lame but instead new creations through Him. It isn't always up to Him though. We may be healed but we are still healed beggars in our minds. We have to not only heal our hearts and receive Jesus but heal our minds to shift from the mindset of the beggar, to the mindset of John and Peter. Because being healed is great, and I will always leap, sing and praise God but we have a responsibility now. There are others sitting outside of that gate and its up to us to go let them in. Beggars can only let beggars in before they run back outside. We have to be the disciples that let the beggars in and continually show them Christ and His life and then turn those beggars into disciples until there isn't anyone else left outside of the gate. It is the Great Commission and our calling so now that you are no longer beggars but disciples if saved, who will you let in the gate to experience God's love today?
I saw Peter and John approaching the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, I was being carried in. Each day I was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so I could beg from the people going into the Temple. When I saw Peter and John about to enter, I asked them for some money.So guys, this is us. We are just like that beggar. We oftentimes are spiritually lame just as this beggar is physically lame. We have to have some sort of collision with people of God and then encounter the Spirit of God to be able to walk again. We sit outside of God's house all the time, afraid to make the next crazy move in fear that it will hurt our dignity somehow. So instead we play it safe outside of His house and beg for some sort of compensation. Maybe not more money but either some sort of sign or works to get us back to life again, to heal our downtrodden spirits. We start losing faith in God and what He can do so we slowly leave the temple, open the gate and proceed to take our seat outside the gate on the ground and hope someone of God can come around to heal our brokenness so we can enter again.
Peter and John looked at me intently, and Peter said to me, “Look at us!” I looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
Then Peter took me by the right hand and helped me up. And as he did, my feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. I jumped up, stood on my feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, I went into the Temple with them.
All the people saw me walking and heard me praising God. When they realized I was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where I was holding tightly to Peter and John.
But the beggar is better off than we are in this case! When Peter and John come forth to heal him by the power of God, the beggar rejoices and then enters the temple. But does the beggar return to his post to become sick again, low in spirit and faith? Absolutely not! The beggar rejoices and praises God even "singing" and "leaping"! After that he "[held] tightly to Peter and John".
That is the mirror image of what God wants. When God found us we were lame and sitting outside of His kingdom begging for mercy, grace, forgiveness and healing from our inner human illnesses. Then here comes God walking up and demands us to "get up and walk" and this is where the road either goes His way or ours. We either say, "You know what God, go ahead in, I'm fine right here today thank you", or we actually get up and follow Him in. Say we do that and follow Him in and upon doing that we are in with God at this point. We forget that when He holds us He doesn't let go but what do some of us do? We slowly fade and stray away and go hang out at the punch bowl. Then before we know it we open up the doors to His house, we exit and go sit back outside the gates again and begin to beg and plead for someone other than the Savior inside to heal us from our brokenness. So out walks Jesus and pulls us back in, and we just go right back outside and sit again and again. If I were God, I wouldn't have patience for myself and countless other Christians that do that. But thank goodness I am not the Judge. God has grace. The beautiful thing is that no matter how many times we go back outside he leaves His kingdom to come bring us back in continually, picks us up off our feet, and walks us back inside knowing we will be right back out there again. He doesn't mind though because he loves us lame, sick hearted humans. He just knows that we fail and need His hand guiding us back in a whole lot and that's what His grace does for us and that is why the love of Jesus is so beautiful. No matter how many times we go sit back outside the beautiful gate of His heart He always walks us right back into His presence.
So all we have to do is to learn how to stay inside longer. We have to learn the unfailing love of Christ. We have to do more of the "walking, leaping and praising" and less of the running back outside. We have to realize that His love never fails and that even if we feel like we failed Him and belong outside of that gate we actually always belong inside of His temple with Him because we are no longer lame but instead new creations through Him. It isn't always up to Him though. We may be healed but we are still healed beggars in our minds. We have to not only heal our hearts and receive Jesus but heal our minds to shift from the mindset of the beggar, to the mindset of John and Peter. Because being healed is great, and I will always leap, sing and praise God but we have a responsibility now. There are others sitting outside of that gate and its up to us to go let them in. Beggars can only let beggars in before they run back outside. We have to be the disciples that let the beggars in and continually show them Christ and His life and then turn those beggars into disciples until there isn't anyone else left outside of the gate. It is the Great Commission and our calling so now that you are no longer beggars but disciples if saved, who will you let in the gate to experience God's love today?
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