Do You Recognize Me? 4/12/2013

"Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

Through the power of the Lord, Peter and John had just famously healed a man who was lame from birth.  This and their subsequent sermon earned them negative attention from the religious rulers.  As a result, they were jailed overnight and the following day were required by those who had made themselves enemies of Christ to give an account of themselves and the things they had said and done.  Their reply to the question, "By what power or by what name, have you done this" was "Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who you crucified, who God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole" Acts 4:10.

Beloved, those who serve the Lord know his power.  We know it not only by faith but because we have seen it work in our own lives.  There are many who think that they do not need God or worse that He does not exist.  Whether by ignorance or rebellion, this is a denial of the sovereignty and the power of the Almighty.  We, like Peter and John, must be willing to both do the will of God and be willing to boldly give Him the glory for the results despite the challenges that exist to do so.

As with the apostles, when we act as children of God and disciples of Jesus, those around us will not be able to deny the truth and they we will know that we have been with the Savior.

Committed,

Lee

Recognition-DD 1/26/2011

"Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

Historically, it was the Gnostics, those that espoused the supremacy of knowledge, that were the biggest opponents of the gospel. As is typical with our God, He gets more done with less and builds the great with the humble. He sent His son, not high born into a palace, but of commoners in the dwelling place of livestock. Christ's forerunner, John, was not some well known speaker but one who cried out in the wilderness, ate bugs and wore animal skins.

Likewise, those who were closest to Christ were mere fishermen, revolutionaries and tax collectors. None of them were educated in the post secondary system of the day. All of them were, however, given the best education possible in that they learned directly from the source.

Beloved, more critical than this, however, is that his disciples were recognized as having been with him! What an incredible badge of honor. What an incredible privilege. What speaks loudest is that it clearly had to be their actions that earned them this recognition. As we go through our daily lives, can the same be said of us? Let us endeavor to make it so if it is not already.

Loving Like Jesus,

Lee