What would it take to cause you to believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? In my Bible study group, we are studying Acts, the book of the Bible that tells us how the church began. When the church started, it had only been about 5 weeks since Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead—not very long at all. Peter, one of Jesus’s disciples, was now the leader. Once Peter and the rest of Jesus’s followers received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:2-4), Peter’s heart was transformed! He’s been filled with the Holy Spirit—and now he’s preaching so powerfully and with tremendous courage to the very same people that had screamed for Jesus to be killed a month earlier. And they had succeeded—these guys did get Jesus killed. Vicious, wicked men. Not the sort you’d want to mess with. But, Peter is fearless. And why not? He’s got the Holy Spirit!
So, Peter and John were in Jerusalem and they went to the temple to pray. As they arrived, they saw a man near the entrance. This man had been crippled his whole life. The only way he survived was begging for money and this was the best spot. So, every day, the crippled man sat in the temple entrance. The point is this: everyone knew who this beggar was. They had seen him a million times. Peter came up to him. He didn’t have money for the man, but he did have something much better—the message of salvation through Jesus. And then, in the name of Jesus, Peter healed that man! Healed him. The crippled man’s feet and ankles were made strong and he leaped to his feet—he “began to walk…walking and leaping and praising God” (Acts 3:8). It was a miracle! Everyone around there saw what happened.
You’d think people would run to Peter and John to hear more about Jesus. Nope. They didn’t have a chance because the leaders had Peter and John arrested. Why? Because they were preaching about Jesus. So, Peter and John were tried for their “crime” the very next day. Peter and John stood before the same guys who got them arrested—and remember, these same guys also saw the crippled man healed. And guess who was standing right beside Peter and John—the man who had been healed! Oh boy, these leaders were in a real pickle. They couldn’t deny the truth of the miracle because they had seen it and the guy was right there. But, they refused to admit it—because if they did, then they would have to admit that all Jesus had taught and all the miracles He performed could only mean one thing: that Jesus was God in the flesh. No way were they admitting that! Instead, though face-to-face with the truth, they refused to believe in Jesus.
People are the same today. We see God’s miraculous work every day—this world, His creation…and most say “Oh no, it’s all random chance and evolution.” The plain miracle of God’s creative work is rejected. Why? Because of hard hearts. The truth of Jesus just bounces off of hard hearts. Maybe you have a hard heart. The good news is it’s a heart condition that can be healed. Jesus died for the sins of those who would believe in Him. He rose from the dead, giving hope of life beyond death to those who believe in Him. He will transform your hard heart—if you truly believe in Him as the Master of your life and your Savior. Let me know if I can pray for you, or, if you’d like to start reading the Bible to learn more, let me know…it would be my joy to help you get started.
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