Pointing People Upward

February 18

(Acts 3:12-13 NIV) ““When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? {13} The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.””

(Acts 14:11-15 NIV) ““When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" {12} Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. {13} The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. {14} But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: {15} "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.””

(1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV) "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

Human beings are plagued by the tendency to worship other humans instead of God. “Celebrity worship” is rampant, whether it be for politicians, athletes, actors, musicians, or preachers. Some will always worship the miracle worker instead of the Miracle Maker. Peter nipped this attitude in the bud. He let people know that it was the living Christ who had healed this man. Peter and John understood that who gets the credit is a big deal. It’s the difference between being a disciple and becoming an idol. They pointed people to Christ. They wanted God to get the glory. They wanted the name of Jesus to be praised. This was their mission and purpose in life. The same goes for us. We all have opportunities to glorify the Lord. God is still glorifying Jesus Christ through those who choose to give Him glory. Everything believers do should be done to the glory of God. Point people upward! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Hanging On or Hanging Out

February 17

(Acts 3:11 NIV) "While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade.”

(Luke 10:38-42 NIV) "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. {39} She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. {40} But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" {41} "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, {42} but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.""

(Luke 19:47-48 NIV) "Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. {48} Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words."

The healed beggar hung on to Peter and John. He had been walking, and jumping, and praising God, so it wasn’t for stability that he hung on to them. Perhaps it was gratitude for the men who had looked him in the eye and reached down to help him up. He wanted everyone to meet these men who had shown him Jesus and given him a second chance. We can learn from him. He was into hanging on, rather than just hanging out. Jesus needs disciples who will hang on to him, not just hang out with him. He needs people who will hang on His words, not just hang out at church. Many people hung out with Jesus, but it was the disciples who hung on to Him. Jesus is looking for Christians who will hang onto him -- believers who won’t forget where they received healing and the words of life -- disciples who will introduce Him to their friends and neighbors. Are you hanging on, or just hanging out? -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Running To the Church

February 16

(Acts 3:11 NIV) "While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade.”

(Mark 3:7-10 NIV) "Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. {8} When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. {9} Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. {10} For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him."

In a day when people are leaving the church in droves, it’s good to see some running to the church in the third chapter of Acts. The same happened to Jesus. The common denominator is the miraculous transformation of lives, and that those who witnessed the deliverance and healing talked it up. This caused many to be astonished and come running to the church. They didn’t all stay, but they could never say they had not seen and heard the truth. The same thing can happen today. When people hear about miraculous transformations, they tend to come running. The miracle of a changed life, whether that change is spiritual or physical, can bring glory to God and draw people to the church. When the church does amazing things, people will come running to see what’s up. But we have to talk it up out in the world where it really counts. We have to get the word out. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day  

Who Gets the Credit

February 15

(Acts 3:11-16 NIV) “While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. {12} When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? {13} The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. {14} You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. {15} You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. {16} By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.”

(John 20:30-31 NIV) "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. {31} But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

After Peter and John brought healing to the crippled man, the crowd began to treat them as superheroes with great power. It was a test for them. They had to decide whether to accept the glory for themselves, or give glory to God. They passed the test. They declared that faith in the name of Jesus caused the miraculous healing. Human beings are interesting. We excel at holding grudges. We blame God for the tragedies, disasters, and calamities in our lives. Some are still angry at God for something that happened decades ago. But when blessing comes our way, or something good happens in our life, we are prone to explaining it away as coincidence, or worse yet, to taking credit for it ourselves. We chalk it up to being godly, or smart, or just plain lucky. In this world, God gets most of the blame, but not much of the credit. Be different, Christian. Give God glory in all things. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day