Acts 3: 12-19 When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, "You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. "And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,
Sin is an awful walking buddy. Sin will weigh you down, slow you down, and eventually paralyze you spiritually. Walking with Christ will no longer be a desired option; you will long only for what sin dictates for your life. Sin makes bad, deadly choices, but your sin-controlled mind will tell you the opposite. It's a long crawl back, or so it will seem, to a life free from sin, but it is possible only in Jesus Christ.
Today's passage showed the power found in the name of Jesus. The apostles Peter and John used that name to free a man from a life of incapacity to walk, condemned to beg for his livelihood. "I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." (Acts 3:6). The man not only got up, he, as the song goes, "went walking, and leaping and praising God," for he knew he had a new life; so can you and me, if we turn over our sins to God.
Peter used this opportunity to preach the Good News, which is all about being forgiven of our sins. The key verse for me is "And by faith in His name, His name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you." And the invitation: "Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out."
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, we can send out sins walking. May they walk, better yet, as this scripture says, may they be wiped out of our lives, and may our walking now be with the best walking buddy in history: Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
PRAYER: Loving God, send my sins packing; wipe them out from me,and let me go, as that dear man, walking, and leaping and praising You for the new life now in me. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
