SILVER & GOLD ....

 A passage and a verse   caught my eye recently ....

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being 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 ( begging)  of them who entered into the temple.
Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked for alms. (begging money)
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, “Look on us“
And he gave heed unto them. expecting to receive something of them.
Then Peter said. “Silver and Gold have I none; but such as I have I give to you -       in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk”
And he took him by the right .hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood. and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping. and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.       Acts 3 1 - 10

But, wait .....  fast forward to this day and age, and a remarkable fact will be  observed.
the answer that Peter gave to the crippled man will now be  REVERSED

2,000 years later, the answer would now be .....
SILVER & GOLD  HAVE WE PLENTY OF 
and lands and buildings and riches and salaries and financial investments and all manner of religious paraphernalia  we have aplenty. 
but of the power of God  .... of the power to heal and bring deliverance ....
we are largely BEREFT  !

If the circumstances of this incident were to happen today .... the man would have got what he expected – a material hand-out, and maybe even taken to a refuge shelter for the night !    But he would still be left in the same condition ...  and still dependent on the next hand-out for survival.   Nothing would have basically changed, and his dependency on MATERIAL AID  would have continued unabated !

Peter & John  ... Silver and Gold have we NONE
Not a coin on them –  No cash at all, and by the sound of it, NONE in the bank, or they may have hurried off to get some

But  ... such as we have, we give to you  -  they were connected to the source of healing and deliverance, to God himself
They sensed and supplied the man's unspoken 40 year old need

So, just what has caused this reversal in possessions to come about ?

I would dare say that the professional religionists have traded the spiritual gifts for  material possessions down through the centuries since this incident.
Land and buildings,  opulent or plain,  from cathedrals to warehouses,  there are plenty of such.
Religious programmes, seminars,  conferences (all expenses paid)  and committees, agendas and budgets, personal empire building (but for God of course – Yeah Right !)  and all the trappings of religiosity with titles and garb.

But with it,  powerless performers ....  to a needy generation

Instead of   possessors            there are     professors
instead of    proclaimers  there are    performers
instead of    people ( men and women) of God 
                                      there are     professionals  (  hirelings !)

Sadly, materialism –  the Arch-enemy of spiritual empowerment, has generally brought a BLIGHT on the personal healing and deliverance that is sought and needed.

And so the Laodicean Church age is upon us, and surrounds us on every side  ....
luke-warmness ...  rich and increased with goods, and having need of nothing, but knowing not that you are wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and  naked Revelation 3 : 16, 17

 

Dear Lord, forgive us all .... drive us to yourself, the living source of all spiritual giftings.  

Forgive us ....  the social solutions, the political correctness, the religiosity, that is now offered to the needy instead of what really matters  – a personal encounter with the living Christ above and before anything else !

Forgive us professed followers of Him who had  no where to lay his head    Luke 9:58

who had to borrow a penny to illustrate a message  ...   Mark 12:15

Dear Lord, drive us to yourself in repentance,
to recover the simplicity of spiritual empowerment and giftings, found only in you !

Dear Lord ....   F O R G I V E   U S    ALL
Amen