Walking and Leaping and Praising God

I sit at the beautiful gate.

Today, two men approach me;

I’ve never seen them before.

I beg them for money;

They just look at me

And I them.

Neither of them reach into their pocket for coins.

One of the men tells me to stand,

but I don’t think he understands–

My legs are too weak

He grabs my hand,

Brings me to my feet,

and my legs start moving…

One foot

In front of

The other

I walk into the temple

For the first time in my life!

Everyone is amazed…

…They remember the man I was for 40 years

Just a beggar at the gate

But now they know

I’m healed

When they see me

Walking and leaping and praising God

Acts 3:2-10, 4:22

Ordinary

Uneducated and untrained.

Unspecial and unextraordinary

Just like everybody else

But we’d been with Jesus, 

The Healer Himself

The lame man testified–

Living proof

We’re accused of boldness

Considered guilty.

God honors availability

More than our own ability.

Acts 4:13-14

Keep your Crowds

Theudas and his four

hundred fans–impressed

by his score,

But where did they go when he was no more?

Judas of Galilee, drawing people in;

Persuasion is power; popularity is purpose,

…or so he thought.

Executed in revolution, yet those he brought?

Scattered.

Jesus of Nazareth, people-magnet.

His death offered life;

Those thereafter craved it in abundance.

Perceivably uneducated men

getting people born again.

“Leave them be!

Who are we

to try to compete

with the living God?”

Creating a crowd is easy.

Making disciples is key.

Acts 5:34-39, Matthew 28:19-20