From: June 6, 2023
“The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13 NLT).
Something extraordinary happens to ordinary people when they spend time with Jesus. When the former fisherman Peter stood to speak to the illustrious gathering of Jewish priests and rabbis they were shocked at his bold eloquence. So much so, that they asked Peter and John to leave the room while they conferred.
What gave Peter and John such authority? They didn’t have influential fathers or letters after their names. They didn’t study under the famous rabbis, Gamaliel or Hillel. They had spent most of their lives as simple fisherman. Yet the last three years they had devoted to following Jesus and that had changed their lives forever. Their time with Jesus had left an indelible mark on them.
Can people tell whether you’ve been with Jesus?
PRAYER: Dear Father, we want others to always notice that we’ve been with Jesus. Fill us afresh this day with the Spirit of Christ. Strengthen us with holy boldness to declare Your gospel. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: June 6, 2016
With the filling of the Holy Spirit, the early church began to see the prophecies concerning Christ all through the Hebrew Scriptures. They were especially drawn to the Psalms of David. After Peter and John were held in custody overnight and instructed to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, they returned to their friends and joined a prayer meeting already in session. As they began to pray, they quoted Psalm 2:1-2, describing how the world’s kings and rulers would come against the Lord’s “Anointed,” in their prayers. This event never happened during David’s time. They rightly perceived that the Spirit had given David this prophecy to describe Jesus’ time. This newfound awareness of the Scriptures, perceived through the influence of the Spirit’s filling, gave the early church tremendous power in prayer and boldness in preaching. Do you ever pray the Scriptures back to the Lord as they did?
From: June 6, 2015
After Peter and John were threatened by the Jewish authorities for preaching in the name of Jesus, they gathered with the other believers and prayed. But they did not pray as one might expect. They didn’t pray for safety or protection. Instead, they prayed that the Lord would handle the threats while giving them boldness to preach in Jesus’ name. And the Lord answered their prayer, shaking the place where they met, so that they poured out like salt, preaching the gospel throughout the land. Oh, that our modern prayer meetings would be like this salt-shaker event again.
From: June 6, 2014
Something extraordinary happens to ordinary people when they spend time with Jesus. When the former fisherman Peter stood to speak to the illustrious gathering of Jewish priests and rabbis they were shocked at his bold eloquence. So much so, that they asked Peter and John to leave the room while they conferred. What gave Peter and John such authority? They didn’t have famous fathers or letters after their names. They didn’t study under Gamaliel or Hillel. They had spent all but the last three years as blue collar workers, as fisherman. But the last three years they had devoted to following Jesus and that changed everything. Others are able to “recognize” people who have “been with Jesus.”
From: June 6, 2012
Do others recognize you as one who has “been with Jesus?”