Seeing is Believing

Acts 3.1-10 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Good Morning.

'Tis a simple passage packed with meaning, power and application. . . Peter and John faithfully continue in the pattern of prayer, going to the temple as observant Jews did, to pray three times a day. (I would do well to set an alarm on my watch to beep at given intervals throughout the day--to call me to prayer! Oh sure, I try to be faithful with my morning prayer time, and send up little prayers throughout the day, but honestly, God is not getting my full attention with the little arrow prayers. . . ) The muezzin calls the Muslim to prayer five times a day, and yes, the Jews are to pray three times a day. . . Why three times? The answer is quite interesting. . . From a current-day rabbi, "The Patriarchs highlighted three times of the day conducive for prayer, and our Sages instituted the three daily prayers. The Talmud highlights Torah verses to teach us that Abraham instituted the morning (as a time for) prayer,Isaac instituted the afternoon (as a time for) prayer, and Jacob instituted the night (as a time for) prayer. After the destruction of the Holy Temple (which happened within a decade of this visit by Peter and John to pray in the temple--A.D. 70--), and the subsequent inability to bring the daily sacrifices, our sages formulated a prayer to be said in the morning in place of the morning sacrifice, a prayer in the afternoon in place of the afternoon sacrifice, and a prayer at night corresponding to the meat of the sacrifices that were consumed in the altar's fire all night. Praying three times a day represents praising and thanking G-d at varied times in our lives. Praying in the morning -- Shacharit -- represents praising G-d when life is fresh and pleasant. Praying Minchah in the afternoon, as the sun begins to set, represents praising G-d in the face of uncertainty. An additional important point in the Minchah prayer, is the fact that it takes place (usually) in middle of the work day. Many times, we need to "stop everything" and completely change course to pray. This is a great merit that we have specifically in the Minchah prayer). Praying Maariv at night symbolizes praising G-d and realizing His greatness even in "dark" times when things do not seem right." (from Ask Moses.com) How many times a day do we Christians stop what we are doing, and devote ourselves to a set-apart time of prayer? hmmm. . .

Peter and John pass by a fixture of the temple scene--the lame man lying next to the Beautiful gate--one of nine gates, leading to the temple--do you SEE the irony in that? The lame man does what he does daily, asking Peter and John for money. Little does he know he could ask them for so much more! They have no money to give him, (telling him so), but instead, they heal him in Jesus' name--setting him free to walk. The symbolism of that screams at me--how many times do I ask God for the wrong thing, often "settling" for far less than He is prepared to give me? hmmm. . . Luke's description that "his feet and ankles were made strong" allows us to almost SEE the divine power running through the muscles and bones of his legs, down into his ankles and feet, enabling him to stand, then walk. Amazing.

But, of course, just standing and walking were not enough for the fella, he took to leaping and praising God. Well, of course, he did. . .he was ecstatic! Wouldn't you be, if God healed you in such a fashion? What has God done for you? Come on, think of how He has changed you, redirected your focus, set your feet on firm ground, given your life purpose. Ah, He is a good God who loves to give His children good gifts. Can't you just picture the faces of those who had known 'lame Joe' for years--they would have been awed by the miraculous. This reminds me of the blind man that Jesus healed, recorded in John 9--he had been blind from birth, and people walked by him every day, just accepting his presence as part of the scenery but not really SEEING him. . . that is, until Jesus walked by. When Jesus looked, He really SAW, and He healed the man. Afterward, the man said, 'this one thing I know, I was blind, but now I SEE,' the lame man, 'I couldn't walk, but now I can run,' and you? These men experienced the mercy and healing power of Jesus Christ, and they bore witness of it to others.

Like them, it is from our experience that we are commissioned to witness. (Acts 1, verse 8) You will be my witnesses. Yes, we are commissioned to tell what we have experienced through the grace of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in our lives. Some folks think they could never 'witness' to another person--'I wouldn't know what to say!' Just tell them from your own experiences what Jesus means to you; tell them what He has done for you.

Imagine seeing the Beautiful gate the next day as the 'lame' man walked through it. . . SEEING is believing what Jesus can do in response to a little faith.

What do you need to SEE today?
See. . . experience. . . witness~
Christine (DiGiacomo) espressocd@cox.net - Hey! Please respond on Facebook or AllaboutGod.com--where people around the world are weighing in and discussing the workings of God. . .