Have you ever felt useless?
Remember, in this time period, religious leaders were elite. Only a select few were accepted to positions of leadership on the councils. And not everyone had access to in-depth religious training. Peter and John? Well, these two were just regular old, fishermen kind of people. Definitely hanging out in rabbinical school.
Yet those two uneducated jokers somehow had the bold courage to stand before the Sanhedrin – aka the Jewish court system, made up of the most educated scholars of the jewish law – and told them that salvation is found in Jesus alone.
Them’s fightin’ words.
And they declared all of this after seeing Jesus crucified. They watched the same Jewish court condemn their Lord to death. Beat Him within an inch of His life. Berate Him with their words while soldiers ripped His body to shred with their whips. And then they watched Him die the most gruesome death imaginable on the cross.
Them’s fightin’ words…
Usually, that’s enough to silence someone. So what made Peter and John so loud?
Well you see, they weren’t just witnesses to Jesus’ death; they were witnesses of His life. His miracles. His resurrection. His ascension. They saw it all. So it became evident how much their time spent with Jesus had changed them.
What does this mean for us? We don’t have a front row seat to Jesus’ miracles like they did. We can’t spend that kind of time with Jesus. Or can we? Maybe not in the flesh. But that doesn’t mean we don’t get to be with Jesus. That doesn’t mean we aren’t party to His miracles.
Every soul needs healing of some kind. Maybe it’s a physical healing. Or maybe it’s something else. Maybe it’s an emotional healing. And every one of us has baggage that needs to go in Jesus name. Baggage like fear, despair, discouragement, jealousy, and insecurity.
Well now, that sounds like grounds for a healing miracle to me.
Every soul needs healing of some kind.
Do we not still thirst for the Living Water? Do we not still hunger for the Bread of Life? Haven’t you ever come to the end of yourself? Perhaps you’ve found yourself uttering words like, “Jesus, I don’t know what else to try.” Or maybe you’ve just come to the end of your energy to fight the feelings of “not good enough” that lurk around every corner.
May you dare to humble yourself under God’s mighty hand. Ask Him to show you your heart, the things you cannot see. And do it without fear. Because He always heals what He reveals.
He always heals what He reveals.
So may you dare to surrender your plan, and trust Him with your desires and see if He doesn’t meet you, minister to you, and establish you more fully in His purposes for you.
Let’s see if time spent with Jesus will strengthen you and embolden you to see beyond yourself and your circumstances and call you back to the mission He gave us before He ascended: to make disciples of every nation.
God wants to revive His Church. He’s purifying hearts, healing hearts, and disciplining those who need it. Those who He loves. Just like He promised He would.
He misses nothing. Oh, that revival would start within us as we sort through the stuff that pushes us down or holds us back.
He’s doing it just like He promised He would.
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