Who Do You Know?
Opening Prayer
Jesus, I quietly focus my heart on You. I want to spend time in Your presence today.
Read ACTS 4:13–22
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How have you experienced Christ? Has what Jesus has done for you impacted the way you live life?Knowing someone is very different than knowing about them. The authorities realized that Peter and John’s courageous teaching wasn’t because they had been successful students in the rabbinical school. The explanation was simple—they had been with Jesus, and the leaders knew it (13).
The wind had been taken out of the sails of these powerful men. The evidence was against them (14,16), but they couldn’t bring themselves to accept the logical consequence themselves. Their response now looks rather pathetic. “Stop talking about it” was the best they could do (18)!
Ever since then, authorities have tried to silence Christians. Some have been totalitarian regimes such as the Soviet Union in the past or North Korea today, using the threat of imprisonment. Others have been more subtle, such as governments and institutions today not treating believers in the same way as others, or media commentators using mockery. But in the end they always fail (21). As Peter and John said (19):it’s hard to deny your own experience.
Apply
Are you sometimes hindered by past failures? Let the experience of God’s forgiveness fuel your obedient living today.
Closing prayer
Holy God, I want the world to know that I have been with You. Change me from the inside out.
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