Taking no credit

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” ~Acts 4:13

This verse is a great one. (Actually this whole chapter in Acts is really good)!
Peter and John just finished healing a lame man that was over 40 years old. And they did this in front of thousands of people. They were doing this act in the name of Jesus. As you could guess they were put in jail for the night. I would guess they may have beat them a little, but the crowd that had witnessed the act this wanted to know why these men are put in jail, they just did a great thing for this man. So, the next day when they asked Peter, "By what power and what name have you done this?” (this is what is great) he does not take any credit for himself at all. Instead, he begins to tell people about God and who he is. In verse 12 he says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

If it were me, I think I would have bragged a little. I probably would have been like, bring on the blind and I will make them see. But not Peter and John, they gave all the credit to God and his power. After some time the chief priest and the elders didn’t know what to do with them. They knew that they were followers of Jesus by the way they talked and presented themselves. They were kind and just waited to help people. I would love to sit back and think that if people saw me they would say, “Wow, that Shannon girl, she's a sweetheart, she must have a relationship with Jesus.” But I think sometimes my actions probably don't say that. You can go to people and tell them all you know about the Lord and how great he is. You can give that person 500 bible verses that say how God will change your life, but until you show them in your life how great he is, they may not believe! It’s like the little kid's song "This Little Light of Mine." In that song, you sing how you want that little light to shine and shine, and you will let nothing blow it out. Well, that is something that I want to do. I want people to see my light through kindness and generosity. I want to strike a curiosity in them that will make them ask about my relationship with God, allowing me to witness and share.

Well the end of this story goes something like this.... the people didn’t know what to do with Peter and John, so they released them and told them return home. They were told not mention what had happened but, do you really think they did that? NO WAY!

“…when they were released, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priest and elders had said to them. When they heard this they raised their voices together in prayer for God.”~Acts 4:23-24

How cool is that? I think for me I really want to walk a better life and stop telling people I have a relationship with God, and prove it, through my walk. So I challenge each of you to do the same. Let's be that mirror image of Christ through all we do and say. Let's raise our voices and praise the name of God. Let's let our light shine. Let's give all the credit to our Father.