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SUCH AS I HAVE

As the apostles, Peter and John, were about to enter the temple in Jerusalem for prayer, they encountered a man who was lame sitting at the gate and asking for handouts.  The man was over 40 years old, and had been born lame and never walked.  When he saw Peter and John, the man asked them for some money.  This man received healing that day because these two men were obedient to God and stopped to minister to the need.  The record of this miracle can be found in Acts 3:1-8.  Five things stand out to me that preceded this miracle, and these five things I believe are pre-requisite to becoming useful servants of God, and, ultimately, channels for miracles:   ·         “And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him…”   First, and foremost, before we can minister to others, we must be willing to see their needs.   It is too easy to look past them, or worse, not see them at all, as we speed through our busy schedules. ...
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I'M GOING FISHING!

“AFTER THESE THINGS Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.  Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.” (John 21:1-3 NKJV).   After Jesus’ betrayal and subsequent execution, the disciples were despondent and unsure how to proceed.   Jesus had appeared to them two separate times after His death, yet they still didn’t know what they should be doing.   In this context we find Peter and six other disciples at the sea of Tiberias and Peter declaring “I am going fishing.” The others went along with him.     Fishing is what these men knew.   It was their profession before the Lord called them.   They had grown up fi...
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THE ENGRAFTED WORD

"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity [excess] of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21).     A neighbor who lives behind me has an amazing apple tree.   It is enormous, and has been there for a very long time.   It provides a lot of shade to them in the summer time, and an ample amount of fruit in the fall.   The amazing thing about this tree, though, is not its size, or age, or even the amount of apples that it bears; no, the amazing thing is that it bears five different varieties of apple!   Someone years ago took the time to graft the branches of other apple trees into the branches of this existing tree.   Now, that which was not possible for this tree to bear on its own has not only become possible, but a reality.   The Bible teaches us that the Word of God can be grafted into the lives of believers.   It is an operation that is, unfortunately, ve...
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