Daily Devotional for Monday, December 12

The Gospel Was Proclaimed

We have all seen something that made us say, “Whoa! How cool was that?” We may have seen a mind-boggling optical illusion. Maybe it was an incredible feat of athleticism. Maybe it was a really impressive buck deer or a huge fish. Whatever it was, we have probably all seen something that made us wonder, “How did they do that?” We love that sort of thing.
What the people in the Temple this day saw was quite impressive. Peter and John had gone to the Temple to spread the gospel, and during their time there, they, by the power of the Holy Spirit, healed a lame man. This fellow went from being disabled his entire life, to standing up and walking like a normal man. This happened instantly, at the word Peter spoke. This certainly made some folks exclaim, “Whoa!” The people assembled had never seen such a thing, and they came running to see what was up.
The key here is that Peter quickly diverted the attention from himself to the One who actually did this miracle. As we know, the gift of miracles was in place then to prove the credentials of the disciples to speak on behalf of God. Earlier in this chapter, Peter said another important thing. He told the man that he had no money to give him, but that he had something to offer that was far more important. There are many religious people telling people how they can make their lives better with temporal things. This is a false message. Jesus did not come to make this life better; He came to make our eternity better.

JUST A THOUGHT: The greatest gift that is available to the world is God’s salvation, and it is forever.

Wally Fry