Daily Bread Acts 9
Daily Bread Acts 9
Aeneas and Dorcas
32As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34"Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. 35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas[b]), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!"
39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
Observation:
Acts 9 records two dramatic stories. First, we read of the conversion of Saul (later named Paul), who was blinded by the light of Christ. Jesus himself confronts Saul and asks him why he is persecuting him. We see here that as any Christian suffers for Christ, that Jesus takes it very personally.
Ananias lays his hands on Saul in obedience to God’s vision where he spoke audibly to him. As Ananias (against his natural inclination) goes and prays for Saul, his sight is restored. The other believers can’t believe this is the same guy who breathed murderous threats to their fellow brothers in Christ. But Barnabas takes him and protects him from the Jews in Damascus who want to kill him.
Meanwhile, Peter goes about his apostolic ministry healing a paralytic in Lydda, and then he meets Tabitha who has already died. Peter asks them to leave the room and prays for to get up. Tabitha opens her eyes and Peter presents her to the other believers. The people are amazed and many turn to the Lord.
Application:
I don’t know if you caught what I just said. Peter just raised somebody from the dead. There is no greater miracle than raising someone from the dead. Jesus had told them that they would do even greater things than he did, and Peter proved His prophecy to be true.
You can only imagine how fast this news spread. Do you believe you can raise someone from the dead? Would you ever be bold enough to pray over someone who had died? I realize this is a challenging question, after all we are taught to respect the dead and there would be the pastoral concern of giving someone false hope who is in grief. But, here we have the story of Peter, an ordinary guy, a fisherman, who infused with the Holy Spirit, prays for a dead person to come back to life. And she does!
Of course it is not Peter who raised Tabitha from the dead, but the Holy Spirit working through his prayers. This is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. This is the same Spirit that will raise our bodies from the dead when we die some day. One of the greatest gifts God has given to us is His Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit running your life, you can do far more than you could ever ask or imagine.
Prayer: Come Holy Spirit fill us with Your gifts and power. Help us to rely on You for all that we do and pray for. Thank you God for the wonderful gift of the Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Aeneas and Dorcas
32As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34"Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. 35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas[b]), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!"
39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
Observation:
Acts 9 records two dramatic stories. First, we read of the conversion of Saul (later named Paul), who was blinded by the light of Christ. Jesus himself confronts Saul and asks him why he is persecuting him. We see here that as any Christian suffers for Christ, that Jesus takes it very personally.
Ananias lays his hands on Saul in obedience to God’s vision where he spoke audibly to him. As Ananias (against his natural inclination) goes and prays for Saul, his sight is restored. The other believers can’t believe this is the same guy who breathed murderous threats to their fellow brothers in Christ. But Barnabas takes him and protects him from the Jews in Damascus who want to kill him.
Meanwhile, Peter goes about his apostolic ministry healing a paralytic in Lydda, and then he meets Tabitha who has already died. Peter asks them to leave the room and prays for to get up. Tabitha opens her eyes and Peter presents her to the other believers. The people are amazed and many turn to the Lord.
Application:
I don’t know if you caught what I just said. Peter just raised somebody from the dead. There is no greater miracle than raising someone from the dead. Jesus had told them that they would do even greater things than he did, and Peter proved His prophecy to be true.
You can only imagine how fast this news spread. Do you believe you can raise someone from the dead? Would you ever be bold enough to pray over someone who had died? I realize this is a challenging question, after all we are taught to respect the dead and there would be the pastoral concern of giving someone false hope who is in grief. But, here we have the story of Peter, an ordinary guy, a fisherman, who infused with the Holy Spirit, prays for a dead person to come back to life. And she does!
Of course it is not Peter who raised Tabitha from the dead, but the Holy Spirit working through his prayers. This is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. This is the same Spirit that will raise our bodies from the dead when we die some day. One of the greatest gifts God has given to us is His Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit running your life, you can do far more than you could ever ask or imagine.
Prayer: Come Holy Spirit fill us with Your gifts and power. Help us to rely on You for all that we do and pray for. Thank you God for the wonderful gift of the Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment