Spending some good time in Acts.\u00a0 I’m always amazed, encouraged, and sometimes shamed as I read what happened in the lives of the apostles and the Church as a whole in those early days.\u00a0 They had such amazing boldness and courage, and experienced some crazy results.<\/p>\n
Today I was looking at chapters 3 and 4 which is when Peter and John healed the lame beggar at the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem.\u00a0 Scripture says they fixed their gaze on the man…staring at him intently to capture his absolute intention…and talking to him with complete confidence and boldness to what Jesus was about to do through them.\u00a0 Then Peter\u00a0spoke complete, physical healing into this man’s life.\u00a0 Dude, this is Peter.\u00a0 PETER!\u00a0 The guy that couldn’t seem to get\u00a0anything right earlier, now totally transformed.\u00a0 I’m thinking, “Man, I want to be like that<\/em>.”\u00a0 You know, to have the kind of power that pushes back and overcomes darkness like that.\u00a0 Why don’t we experience that?\u00a0 A question I’ve pondered a lot and don’t really have the answer, though I have some idea.\u00a0 I will save that for another post perhaps.<\/p>\n What really struck me today was what happened after they went on into the Temple.\u00a0 When confronted by the authorities, Peter started boldly preaching again.\u00a0 Unless something really extreme had happened, what Peter said next was nothing less than hypocricy on steroids.\u00a0 In 13 and 14, Peter said this:<\/p>\n 13\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, (15) and you killed the Author of life…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Did you catch that?\u00a0 Twice Peter said that they<\/em> had denied Jesus.\u00a0 Helloooo, excuse me, Pete, but do you not remember where you were at about the time these little people were denying Him??<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/em>Peter had run away like a scared little girl from, oh, yeah, a little girl<\/em> who had accused him of being a follower of Jesus.\u00a0 Three times he had denied<\/em> knowing Jesus!\u00a0 It’s like now he had totally forgotten what he, himself,\u00a0had done.\u00a0 How does that<\/em> happen?\u00a0 What right does Peter<\/em> have to be accusing others of denying?\u00a0 None…unless something had happened to him.\u00a0 Perhaps Peter had experienced some extreme Grace<\/em>.<\/p>\n Need some?\u00a0 Check out Part 2 tomorrow.<\/p>\n