the same Jesus...

Acts 3:1-16 (paraphrased by me)

Peter and John were going to the Temple, one afternoon, for prayer. Outside the gate, there was a man who couldn't walk. He had been this way since birth. He was placed there, every morning, to beg for money. As Peter and John passed by, he begged them too. They didn't have money, but they saw his greatest need and that was Christ. He was healed in the name of our Savior. Peter took the man by his hand and helped him off the ground. For the first time, he was able to stand on his own, because his ankles were strengthened and healed. The man jumped to his feet and began to walk. He was so excited and was praising God as he joined Peter and John in the temple.

The people in the temple saw what he was doing and realized that this was the same man who they passed every day on the way to the temple. THEY WERE ASTONISHED!

(next comes my favorite part)

Peter used this opportunity as a teachable moment. (I can just see him being like, hello... don't you get it?) He confronted them, saying: "Why are you shocked? The God of the universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, did this to bring glory to Jesus. Yes, Jesus, the same Jesus, who you handed over and rejected before Pilate, even though Pilate wanted him released. The same holy and righteous one who you killed and in doing so released a guilty murderer. The same Jesus who is the author of life. Yes, the same Jesus, who God raised from the dead. Faith in this same Jesus healed this man, right before their eyes.

Keep your eyes open, to see what this same Jesus is doing in your life, today!