Leaping for Joy
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the
ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a
certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb
was being carried along, whom they
used to set down every day at the gate of the temple
which is called Beautiful, in order to beg
alms of those who were entering the temple. And when he saw Peter and John about to go
into
the temple, he began asking to receive alms. And Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze
upon
him and said, “Look at us!” And he began to give them his attention,
expecting to receive
something from them.
But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have
I give to you “In the name of Jesus Christ the
Nazarene - walk!” And seizing him by the
right
hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and
his ankles were strengthened. And with a
leap, he stood upright and began to walk; and he
entered the temple with them, walking and
leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and
praising God.
I remember the
day Jesus came into my heart. My priest
prayed for me for a long time and then
he quietly left
the church. I prayed ever so long at the
altar after he left. Jesus gently took
my
soul and
restored me. My soul was as equally as
crippled as the man sitting at the gate.
My
friends had
taken me to the temple for healing. What
a blessing to have friends who recognized
the condition
of our soul and lead us to the Savior. After receiving Christ I well remember
my
transformation.
Not only was it spiritual but also physical. I felt as if I was walking
on tip toes for eons. I well can relate
to the man in scripture when with a leap he stood upright. My joy was so deep it was evident to those
around me. The first time I saw my
sister-in-law, she asked “what are you
on now?” Formerly I had been on tranquilizers and beer. Joyfully I could tell her Jesus had become my
Savior. Some of us are so crippled our
first instinct is to leap for joy when Jesus enters our life.
The blessing for us it is so real we leap for joy the rest of our lives.
