| Photo by Spencer Goggin on Unsplash
In Acts 3, we see the miracle of the lame man who has been sitting at the temple, begging for years. Peter and John come, and we see Jesus heal the man. This man, who has been lame since birth, is not leaping and praising God because of the miracle in his life.
Peter gets up and preaches about Jesus, saying that what Jesus did for this lame man is what Jesus can do for you.
Acts 3:16 – “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed – and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus name has healed him before your very eyes.” We need faith in Jesus that He can do anything. Nothing is impossible for Him.
Then Peter says in verses 3: 19-20 – “Now REPENT of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of REFRESHMENT will come from the presence of the Lord, and He will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.”
What is the message to each of us today:
* We first must RETURN TO THE LORD. Just like the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, who realized His condition and said, I should RETURN to my Father. When we reach the bottom, we realize we have nowhere else to go. Return to Jesus, and He is waiting to receive you.
* Then we must REPENT OF OUR SINS. We need more than just to be sorry for our sins; we need to REPENT of our sins. That means turning away from sin and turning to Jesus! Repentance means to surrender, and daily we must surrender our sins to the Lord!
* Then the TIMES OF REFRESHMENT will come because of His presence in our lives! When we experience the Lord’s presence in our daily lives, we will know refreshment! There is joy, peace, and this is security when we come into His presence!
Today, where am I in my spiritual walk? Do I need to RETURN? REPENT? Am I walking in the REFRESHMENT OF THE LORD?
I am the only one who can make that choice for me!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws on many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and from significant emotional experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. The daily devotion appears in this publication.
