Lord make me Weak

Acts 3:1-10

What a wonderful account of Jesus Christ living His life in and through Peter and John.  How different it is from my experiences, and the question we must ask is why?  Could it be that they had more of Christ living in them, or is it because they were apostles, they had greater faith in this truth, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20 ESV)  I believe that when Christ died on that cross I also died to the penalty of sin.  Jesus did this for whosoever will believe in Him, and I have little understanding of the how, but I can testify that when by faith He came into my life, I became a different person, ask my wife.  Jesus looked at you and me (outside of time as we understand it) and paid in full for our sins.  But it is the last part of Galatians 2:20 that my flesh wars with, and it is not that I do not believe it to be true, I do, it’s that I have a misguided faith, it is often placed outside of Christ.  And that kind of faith will never tell a man who is born lame to look at me, as Peter told the man in this story.  Misguided faith will never believe that God is the same today as He always has been, misguided faith will try to help the pain, but has no power to say as Peter: “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!” (Acts 3:6 ESV)

My prayer is that your faith is not misguided, that as you go, it is Jesus going, and as you do it is Jesus doing, because what Peter did was not special, it was promised to everyone that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Helper would live in us and through us and do things impossible for man.  But How, is a great question, faith comes by hearing from God and acting on what we hear, and the enemy of our soul tells us we do not have to die to all other sources. 

You and I have been trained like birddogs to trust in our abilities, but Scripture tells us that if you want to be strong, then you must become weak, for in weakness we will find dependence on Jesus.  “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV)

The apostle Peter speaking by the authority of the Holy Spirit has this to say about all who are in Christ, but often you and I do not believe it is true about us, we must ask Jesus to give us a new understanding of our identity in Christ.  This is what the Spirit of Truth says about your new identity in Christ:” His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV)

Will you pray for my misguided faith, and ask the Lord to make me weak so that I will depend on Jesus only, and I am asking that for all who read this.  In this present darkness many are looking for light, and that light will be found in a weak person who allows Jesus to be life, and those are the ones who are saying, “but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”  And we will experience what Peter and John experienced; “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.

(Acts 3:7-8 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice