This is my story: Ordinary people called by an extraordinary God
“1 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.
4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded!”
This message begins with the story in Acts 3, where a lame man is healed through the name of Jesus. The man had been carried daily to the temple gate called Beautiful—not to worship, but to beg for survival. His friends had faithfully helped him for years, yet no one truly expected him to be healed. However, Peter and John, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked beyond his surface need and offered him something far greater than silver or gold—they offered the power of Jesus’ name. What happened was not just a physical healing but a complete transformation of his life.
I want to share my personal testimony through this passage. Like the lame man, I too once prayed earnestly for “silver and gold”—specifically, the healing of my right ear and success in academics. But God, in His love, chose to address something much deeper first: the wounds in my heart and my crushed self-worth. Before I met Jesus personally, I lived trapped in inferiority and comparison, unable to love myself and constantly seeking the approval of others. But the gospel set me free. It opened my eyes to the truth that I am a beloved child of God—worthy, cherished, and accepted.
The fullness of the Holy Spirit enables us to see ourselves and others as God sees us. It is not by merit or performance, but by His unconditional love that our identity is restored. Under the light of the Holy Spirit, we begin to recognize and receive that love—and in doing so, we are made whole. True healing begins in the soul, and from there, it transforms every part of life.
So I pose two questions for you to reflect on and share in your small groups:
“What is the silver and gold you have been asking from God?”
“And what unexpected grace of the gospel have you already received?”
May these questions open the door to testimony and healing among us. Like the lame man who stood, walked, and leapt into the temple, may we also rise up in the name of Jesus, walk in His freedom, and enter into the place of worship with joy.
Prayer: Lord, in our lives there are areas of weakness and helplessness, like the lame man by the temple gate. Sometimes, when You do not give us the silver and gold we asked for, we struggle to understand Your silence. But even then, we choose to trust You. Open the gates of heaven and pour out blessings beyond what we imagined. Let us rise up, walk, and leap with joy—entering into Your holy presence with praise and thanksgiving. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Note: This summary was created based on an AI draft.)