Not Manufacturers but Distributors

^{Acts 3:9} When all the people saw him walking and praising God

Whenever there is a move of God it will attract attention, and here is where the believer is tested.

Proverbs 27:21
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.

When we are in the middle of where God is working people will associate us with His power. Our flesh will be tempted to accept some credit for what God has done through us. Let's face it there probably are certain things that we have done that got us to the right place at the right time with the right action or word that made some sort of difference. However we must never lose sight of the fact that it is God who is the author and finisher of our faith and our ministry to others. We are nothing apart from Him. We are merely distributors of the riches of His bounty. Not Manufacturers.
APPLICATION
To walk humbly with God loving mercy and keeping a look out for ways to distribute His Grace to others.

Emotions are Not Reliable

⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

Whenever we are touched by God there will always be an emotional response. Our emotions are responders to what is going on in our minds. As this man is physically healed he begins to register that he can walk and will have for the first time a prospect of a normal life he emotionally freaks out with exuberance.  Our emotions directly reflect our thoughts, for example if there is a man who is poor and he needs money to pay the rent, and he has a wife and children who need food and he has been out of work for months and he comes to me and asks for a loan, emotionally he will be sullen and serious. Say I write him a check for $2000. what will his emotional state be as he leaves my office? He will be elated maybe even giddy... because he has in his hand a real solution to a real problem and now his children will have a decent Christmas...etc. Until he gets to the bank and tries to cash that check, when the bank teller explains that the check was not good and could not be cashed, what do you think his emotional state would be? Previously he was elated because he THOUGHT he had $2000. but in reality it was just a piece of worthless paper. So he did not actually have a solution to his problem but his emotions which were real elation and even giddiness responded to something that was false. It is important to understand that our emotions are easily tricked and not reliable to make decisions upon. In the case of this man in the Temple well indeed he was elated and rightfully so because he was touched by God and God does not do things half way.
APPLICATION
I need to remember that my emotions can be manipulated and that they are not reliable to make decisions with. I need to be able to discern the difference between the leading of the Lord and my emotions, those are very different and must be distinguished from one another. 

Loose Grip

^{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.”

So many times we think we know what we want and pursue one goal or another when God has something else in mind. We need to learn to have a loose grip on our idea of what is the direction for our lives. We cannot demand that we know God's will for our lives, instead we must consider a path, take a step and look up seeking confirmation and peace to take another, then to look up again and again always willing to be guided toward a new or different direction. Sometimes in order for God to get us to a particular place He may want us to meander through a variety of roads and byways to get there because the lessons along the way were essential to us accomplishing what we need to do at the destination. Consider the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years, they could have navigated a straight path and arrived in 2 weeks, but God had a different plan altogether. And besides it is not the destination that is important but the journey where we learn and come in contact with others that shape our lives in Him.
APPLICATION
I need to keep a loose grip on my ideas and be open and willing to be redirected by the Holy Spirit.

The Big Get - Unity

^{Colossians 3:14} And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

According to the most infamous prayer of Jesus in John 17 His great appeal to the Father was for the unity of the believers. Unfortunately it hardly worked out that way with all the varying and sundry denominations, sects and christian "movements" down through the ages we do indeed agree on much however the things we disagree on apparently tend to separate us into our divisions and assemblies. The best we can do to work on in order to fulfill this great prayer of Jesus is to be unified within our own group first. This starts with the family, then to the church then to the rest of the culture. The big clue to accomplish that is to put on love which

according to 1 Peter 4:8

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

and to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres

Well now that we know what to do and how to do it it will be to our great blessing if we could do it.

APPLICATION
I believe, help me with my unbelief.

Peace, the Referee of our Soul

^{Col. 3:13} Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 

 Here is the building block of how to live at peace with one another. If we are not at peace with one another we are not at peace with God nor ourselves.

1 John 4:20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

We are to practice the lifestyle of living at peace with one another. The currency of peace is to bear with each other and to forgive one another as a constant matter of our personality and character. To strive for peace is our way of walking with God. When our peace is disturbed it is an indication of our path with God being off track and in need of adjustment. God will use our peace as a very strong way of directing our thoughts, our attitudes and our actions on our path.

Psalm 85:10
Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Psalm 119:165
Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.


Proverbs 3:16-18
16 Long life is in her right hand;
   in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
   and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
   those who hold her fast will be blessed.

 So as we peace is a characteristic that a christian is to constantly be mindful of as God uses it to keep us close to Him.

APPLICATION
I need to be more sensitive in recognizing the loss of peace and how it affects my decisions and attitude

Power Upon You

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The primary demonstration of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is that you are empowered by God to be a witness of Him and what He has done in your life. Indeed many times the gifts of the HS as in speaking in tongues is present at the time of the Batism of the HS but not always. However the boldness and confidence and also a God centered mindfulness of His presence is always the accompanying occurrence of the Spirit coming upon a person with Power to do God's will.

APPLICATION

I need to pray daily for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. For apart from Jesus I can do nothing.

Usurper of God's Sovereign Authority

 ^{ACTS 1:7} He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

And ever since then we as humans want to know the times and the dates... We always want what we cannot have. "you can eat from any of the trees in the garden except this one ..."  "which one?"  It is just our nature to drive us toward the forbidden. So many have come along and declared oh on such and such a day is the day... To no avail. In fact in this verse it is by God's sovereign authority that the times are set. So for a man to make such a declaration is to usurp the authority that belongs only to God and He alone. How foolish even to attempt.  


APPLICATION
What are the things in my life that are under God's authority that I have foolishly usurped to myself what belongs to the Father. My will, my time, finances. I need to recondition my thinking on these matters.