What I do Have I Give You

Acts 3:6
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

The lame man was a permanent part of the gate into the Temple. He was always there begging the worshippers who were coming in and out of the temple. Everyone saw him. Everyone knew he was there. Everyone assumed he belonged there. The best some could do was to give him some small help.

The lame man was a beggar. He was used to begging. He had calculated his needs to match the money he collected from the temple gate. His family if any was provided for through this means of begging. He had begged for so long that all he ever hoped for was more income. His greatest dream was not to walk but to make a huge collection that will end his poverty. He probably dreamt that one day a rich man will end his misery. That was probably the best he dreamt about.

On this particular day, he was begging as usual. He hopefully looked at the people passing by, hoping to make a living. The passersby also saw him as the usual part of that gate. Everything was normal for everyone on that day. When Peter and John arrived at the gate the man begged as usual. He expected they would help him or ignore him.

Peter and John realized that the man was begging them but his attention was also elsewhere hoping to catch the attention of others who were passing by. Peter and John did what others didn’t do, they stopped. Many who help the man, always dropped their contributions and hurried away, but these two stopped by. That was unusual. They were different. They cared. They were not embarrassed because of his situation. They didn’t mind identifying with him. They then called for his attention, Acts 3:4-5.

When they called for his attention, he thought they wanted to help him, probably in a big way. Then Peter told him that they did not have the silver and gold he has been receiving for the many years he had been there. They told him that they had what had never been given to him. They offered him healing from the lame situation, something he had not thought about or anticipated recently. He got healed when he least expected!

He used to get silver and gold, but it never changed his life. When he got what he had never received, his life changed. If our life is in a direction we don’t like, we need something new, a new direction. If our life is stuck somewhere, we need to try something new that we haven’t tried. Silver and gold had never helped him get out of the begging trap. Healing made a difference. May God grant you what you haven’t had so that life changes for the better!

What do you give the many beggars around us? Those begging for attention. Those begging for care. Those begging for money. Those begging for wisdom. Those begging for hope. Those begging for love. Those begging around need something from us. We can’t give them what they have been receiving and expect a change in that life. We must give them what they have never had and their lives will change for the better!

The beggars around us have been given silver and gold that hasn’t helped them. They need something that comes in the name of Jesus. They have been given infatuation. They have been given motivation. They have been given false political promises. They have been given hard drugs. They have been given education and money. We can’t give them the same things that haven’t worked for them. We must give them something in the name of Jesus and things will change for the better!

Introduce people to Jesus. Help people start a relationship with Jesus. Get people to meet Jesus. Jesus is what the world lacks. The world has pleasures but not Jesus. The world has education but not Jesus. The world has sound advice and great motivations but not Jesus. The world has wealth and trappings of power but not Jesus. In short, the world has been receiving silver and gold and nothing has changed. It’s time we give the world what it truly lacks and needs, and that is in the name of Jesus may your challenges be addressed today, Amen!

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