Prov. 19
Proverbs 19 mentions quite a bit about how people are more inclined to befriend the wealthy than the poor. It is human nature to seek relationships from which one can benefit. But Proverbs 19:22 reveals where the true wealth in a man lies. “What is desired in a man is steadfast love, and a poor man is better than a liar.” What is in the heart – the character of a man – matters far more than what is in his pockets!
But here’s the kicker, “Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?” (Prov. 20:6). It seems a genuine, faithful friend is a hard thing to find!
Prov. 20
Hmmm…Proverbs 20:30 is interesting. “Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts.” Proverbs isn’t a place where I expect to find prophecy, but that sure sounds like a familiar theme. “But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed” (Is 53:5). And 1 Peter 2:24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.”
Prov. 21
“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice” (Prov. 21:2-3). There it is yet again – attitudes and motives matter far more than actions!! This is not an “ends justify the means” statement but, rather, one of sincerity. Doing the “right” thing for the wrong reasons matters little. But the human heart is a fickle thing. As it says in Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” It is no wonder that David prayed, in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heat, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Yes, Lord, I don’t want to do what seems right to me, but let my heart be clay in your hands, that you might shape it into something good for your glory! Amen!
Acts 3
In Acts 3, Peter and John healed a lame man on their way to the temple to pray. This miracle is interesting to me, because I see a stark difference from most of the miracles that Jesus performed. The common theme with Jesus’ miracles was, “your faith has made you (or your loved one) well.” But that isn’t at all what I see here. This lame man did not ask to be healed. He did not even realize that healing was an option to ask for! He was expecting to receive alms. And when Peter told the man to “rise up and walk”, he didn’t leap up in obedience. Rather, as Peter was saying this to him, he reached down, grabbed the man by the arm, and “raised him up”. The man likely had no real idea what was going on until his “feet and ankles were made strong” under him.
Peter offered this healing to this unsuspecting man as a gift, pure and simple. He fully knew that the Holy Spirit had given him the authority to give this gift, and his faith in that knowledge made it so. Why does God work such miracles through His messengers? To bear witness to His Truth, for His glory and for the good of those who believe (or will believe) on Him. And such was the case in this instance, as Peter’s gift of healing to this lame man opened up opportunity for him and John to witness to the people in the Temple about redemption through Christ.