Real Hope: Acts - a Study of Acts 1-5Sample

What Have You Got to Give

We read in Acts 3 that one day Peter and John went to the Temple at three o’clock in the afternoon – it was the hour of prayer – and they came across a lame man who wanted help. The man was lying at the entrance to the Temple by the gate called ‘Beautiful.’ Wouldn’t it be natural to seek help from those who were going into the Temple to pray and worship? But Peter and John, two followers of Jesus, did not ignore or pass by this man in need as others had.

The lame man had expected financial help – but the Gospel tells us he received something infinitely greater: two strong legs on which to stand so he could help himself! Perhaps some of the worshippers that day threw a few pennies into the poor man’s lap – it was the easiest thing to do. It salves the conscience, and they could get on with their business. After all, they had come to worship God. It’s easy to give a quick solution to someone in need. It’s far more difficult to share our love, sympathy, understanding, and faith with others. I read recently, ‘The doors of every church should swing inward to the experience of worship and outward to the experience of service.’

Look about you for people who are lonely, frustrated, disillusioned, and defeated. Many today have lost hope and feel forgotten by God and man, probably just as the lame man did. Don’t these people have a right to look to Christians and the church for help? If we don’t help them, who will? In the story in Acts, the man came to the gate Beautiful for a new lease on life. Peter and John had something really great to share with this needy man that was real – it wasn’t money, but they gave of themselves.

Written by CHRIS WITTS