Here are some highlights from Sunday’s Message:

Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.
Acts 3:1-3

You might ask…. What is re-imaging? Re-imaging is the concept that in Christ you see things from a completely different perspective. The same things have new meaning and give a new fresh view on life.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Before Christ you read the Bible and got nothing out of it… In Christ you read it and it comes alive. Before Christ you had friends… In Christ you now have an extended family of brothers and sisters all over the world.

It’s interesting to note that Peter and John continued worshiping in their Jewish tradition. Luke tells us that they went to the temple to pray at the ninth hour or 3:00 in the afternoon. A devout Jew would pray in a congregation three times a day. But now, their times of prayer had new meaning… they had been re-imaged.

Prior to being with Jesus, Peter and John were partners in business and now in Christ their relationship has been re-imaged and they are now partners in ministry.

Even our every day routine is re-imaged when Jesus is in the picture. Look at the Lame Man for a moment. Everyone knew who this man was… he was lame from birth… From the lame man’s perspective, he was doing what He always did. He was doing his daily routine. In Chapter 4 we find out he had been doing this for probably over 30 years. It is evident that he was well cared for… someone carried him down to the gate Beautiful to beg for money daily his entire life. Why this gate? Because it was well trafficked. They believed it would be most profitable for the man… everyone who entered the temple had to walk by him.

If a devout Jew walked by, he would feel obligated to give, but when this lame man woke up that morning, he had no idea that his life was about to change. The lame man sees Peter and John as they’re walking by and asks them for alms… help for the poor… usually monetary.

The story continues…
And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them (vs. 4).

Peter and John probably walked by this guy for years… but today was different. Peter and John see this man through new eyes… they see this man re-imaged through the eyes of Jesus. Peter says… look at us. The lame man looks expecting to get something from them… and then it happens… heaven breaks in.

Maybe heaven is waiting to break in if only you would look through new eyes… the new eyes of a transformed person… the eyes of faith.

Ciao…

Blessings…

P.HD