TOPIC: What I Do Have I Give You
SCRIPTURE: Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk”. – Acts 3:6, NIV
I remember I was reading the above verse a while back and it jumped out to me in a way that I hadn’t really noticed before. To me it was as if Peter was saying to the man, “I don’t have much. But what I do have is Jesus, and I will share Him with you.” I find this both inspiring and challenging!
There have been times where I found this easier to put into practice, but, and this is where the challenge comes, we are always called to be His vessels to the world around us. ‘We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us’ (2 Corinthians 5:20).
I think this is something I need to keep asking the Lord about. Maybe it comes quite naturally to you, but when people don’t always ask me leading questions, or the big conversations about faith don’t open up, or because I am in a Christian environment, it can be hard to feel that I am actively sharing Jesus. I was in a situation a few months ago which I found quite frustrating, as I really wanted to be able to tell those around me about Jesus and His heart for them but was unable to.
But I felt that the Lord was showing me that He can use me by how I am, not just by what I say. That it is about Him acting through me, not my own efforts. It doesn’t have to be answering (or trying to answer!) big questions and conversations – although this can be needed at times.
He can use us to reflect Him by how we act, how we respond, through what we say or don’t say, but ultimately by asking the Holy Spirit to touch people through us as He helps us become more like Jesus. We can ask Him to help us love like Him, forgive like Him, and respond like Him. As long as we are open to Him, I think the Holy Spirit can touch people through us without us even realising.
So be encouraged! We are called to be His vessels right where we are today. It doesn’t matter if we are already in a Christian environment, or if we don’t feel confident about sharing Jesus. He can still use us. We don’t need to have much. We have Jesus to share, and He is everything. It is about the Holy Spirit working through us, not our own striving. It wasn’t Peter who enabled the man in Acts to walk. It was God working through him. Being salt and light isn’t something we can do on our own, but He doesn’t want us to try alone. He wants us to look to Him.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for the privilege of You wanting to use me as a vessel. Please show me, Lord, what it means for me to share You with those around me today. Holy Spirit, please have Your way in me and through me. Help me to have Your heart for others. May they see something of You in me, not because of who I am, but because of who You are, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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TODAY’S WRITER: Bayo Earl Bayo is on team at Ellel Grange after originally joining Ellel through the gap year programme UNDIVIDED. She loves to be creative – particularly through textiles – has a lot of plants, inside and outside, and is definitely an outdoors person.
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