Acts 3:9

“And all the people saw him walking and praising God.”

                When I first read this verse, I was thinking, “Well, yeah. He used to be outside the temple begging, now he’s inside and everyone can see him walking… and he’s praising God, so he’s being loud – everyone sees; self explanatory.” But then I thought of where they actually were. They’re in the temple! They’re in the place of worship and prayer – and it would be very shortly after the Pentecost! Why was it so noticeable that this man was walking and praising God?

                Was it God pointing out this miracle to the people? Was God clearly exemplifying this miracle to the people? Or was it just the glow on this man’s face and the way he leaped for joy and yelled God’s praises?

                I see two lessons to learn from this. The first is that we should have the joy that this man has in God’s abundant mercy and love. The second is that these stand-bys don’t have it! It shouldn’t be so noticeable that this guy is so very glad in the Lord!

                So many of us today lack this joy! Again and again, God shows us that we need to have joy overflowing! Paul while in chains wrote Philippians, an epistle that constantly talks about the joy we should have in suffering. We need to be abundant in our joy and love the Lord, constantly sending up our praises to God.

                Today I will spend my On The Mount time (two hours we spend twice a week in prayer and the Bible) thanking God for his faithfulness and praising him for his goodness.