Acts 3:16

     "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 Hi, that has given this complete healing to him, as you can see."   (NIV)

     At the time of this occurrence, Jesus had been crucified, died, and had risen again.  And now the apostles were preaching the gospel and performing miracles in His name through the power of the Holy Spirit.

     Peter and John were on their way to Temple for afternoon prayer when they saw a beggar who had been crippled since birth. The beggar asked them for money; but, Peter replied, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, walk." (Acts 3:6).  Then Peter held the beggar's right hand and helped him to stand. The mans feet and legs became strong.  He stood... walked...ran!  Jumped for joy!  And praised God.
  

 Since it was customary for everyone to go to Temple for afternoon prayers, there was a large crowd of people who witnessed this miracle of healing. Peter spoke to the crowd, giving all the praise and glory to God. He seized the opportunity to explain that Jesus was the Messiah foretold by the prophets, that He had been unrecognized by many of His own people, had been crucified and resurrected.  Now that He had risen and visited upon the apostles, Peter and the other apostles were able to heal in His name and power!
     There are a few things we can learn from this incident which occurred a couple thousand years ago:



#1: The Torah had not been abolished after Christ's death and resurrection.  The apostles and the rest of the crowd were going to Temple for afternoon prayer, as always. These people were still going to Temple, eating "Kosher", and following the Torah.
#2: Peter could have ignored the beggar when he asked for money.  It would have been easy to simply walk on by, especially since Peter didn't have any money... Nothing to offer... No sense in getting involved... Not so when the Holy Spirit is walking with you!


#3: The beggar asked for money - that's what he WANTED.  God gave him a miraculous healing - THAT was what he NEEDED. Sometimes we need to recognize the difference between what we want and what we truly need.  Ask God for wisdom and discernment. And, don't put God in a people-sized box!  He can do so much more than give us a coin with which to buy a crust of bread!
#4: Both Peter and the beggar gave praise to God for the healing.  How easy it would have been to accept even a small part of the credit!  But Peter knew and acknowledged that all the honor and glory belonged to the Lord.

Do you give the Lord your thanks and praise every day?  Do you praise Him when things are going well?  How 'bout when things are just so-so?  Aren't you still protected and out of harms way?  Praise God from Whom  ALL blessings flow!

II KINGS 3:16

          And he said, "This is what the Lord says: 'Make the valley full of ditches... You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.'" (NIV)



  The book of II Kings was probably written by the prophet Jeremiah, although this is not known for certain.  It consists of history... the stories of the kings of Israel until Israel's defeat by Assyria.  Throughout these stories, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two areas - Israel and Judah - each with separate kings.  Unfortunately, the two groups didn't always get along with each other.  The stories in the book of II Kings are told chronologically; king-by-king.  Sadly, four out of five kings was evil... Not too surprising that the nation fell, is it?  (Sound familiar?)

Water flowing from a rock in the desert; unknown photographer

      The location of this three-sixteen is the desert of Edom.  The prophet Elisha is speaking,  giving a message from God to the kings of  Edom, Israel, and Judah.  Elisha's prophecy starts with the pronouncement that   despite their being in the Moab desert,  there would be water in the morning.  Prolific amounts of water. The prophecy goes on to say that against all odds the Lord will hand over Moab to Israel in battle.  Sure enough, God kept His promise, and the valley was flooded the next day despite the fact that it had not rained...
      The water played a large part in Israel winning the battle over Moab.  When the army of Moab saw the water, they saw a red reflection in it and thought it was blood.  They assumed that the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom had fought to the death, and that they were all slain in battle.  So they rode on their horses into the camps of the Israelites, where the Israelites fought them and won.

"Blood River",  from Butterfunk.com

  God keeps His promises.  In this story, Elisha's prophecy was fulfilled right down to the tiniest detail. That's the way it is when you listen and obey. (Yup; it's the pesky obedience word, again!)
     Elisha was the direct spiritual heir of Elijah.  Both prophets had deep compassion for the people, but their focus was different.  Elijah was a warrior who called down fire from heaven to destroy captains and armies.  Elisha, on the other hand, performed miracles to serve the common people, such as providing water in the desert.
  
      But, all miracles come from God.   Are you prepared for miracles in your life?
  
       They happen every day.