Help People Find Healing in Jesus
“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
ACTS 1:8
One of the habits of a Spirit-filled church is witnessing to others about Jesus. In Acts 3:3-10, we see two of Jesus' disciples, Peter and John, witness to a lame man begging for alms at the temple gate. “When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms” (v. 3).
Just like the lame beggar, before a person comes to know Jesus, we are in a spiritually bankrupt and crippled state. People can't even keep their own New Year’s resolution, how much more unable are we in keeping God's perfect standard of holiness? Just like with Peter and John, God wants for Christians to be intentional in caring for others. Often though, we neglect to do that even to those closest to us. When was the last time you asked an officemate how they are and what you can pray for them? In this Acts 3 story, Peter and John took notice of the lame man's physical and spiritual needs and they prayed to God to heal him in body and spirit; they helped him find healing in Jesus.
As a result of his encounter with Jesus through the caring witness of Christ's disciples, the crippled beggar’s life was transformed from darkness to light, death to life (Romans 5:6-11). An important reminder that we need to keep in mind when we ask God for physical healing is that we must pray in faith, in Jesus’ name and with Thanksgiving (Acts 3:6-9). More importantly, we meet must help people find healing beyond the physical aspect. When we bring people to Jesus for healing, they find forgiveness, hope and completeness in him.
Let's follow Peter and John's example when we witness to others about the gospel. They used familiar terms about God that ordinary people can understand (v. 13). Tell people what we have done towards God by our sinful responses to Jesus (v. 13-15), and tell them who Jesus is and what he has done for us (v. Acts 3:14-16), so we can be forgiven and reconciled to God when we repent, turning away from our sins and turning to God (v. 17-26).
Do you want to transform people’s lives? Then be a witness of the gospel, help bring people to Jesus for healing; share your own story of transformation and others will be amazed at the work of God through Christ (v. 9-10).
- from 4W's