APRIL 22, 2014
Acts
Of Kindness
Read: Acts
4:1-13
By the name of Jesus . . . , whom you crucified, whom God raised from
the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. —Acts 4:10
I was traveling with some
men when we spotted a family stranded alongside the road. My friends
immediately pulled over to help. They got the car running, talked with the
father and mother of the family, and gave them some money for gasoline. When
the mother thanked them over and over, they replied, “We’re glad to help out,
and we do it in Jesus’ name.” As we drove away, I thought how natural it was
for these friends to help people in need and acknowledge the Lord as the source
of their generosity.
Peter and John
exhibited that same joyful generosity when they healed a lame man who was
begging outside the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 3:1-10). This led to their arrest
and appearance before the authorities who asked, “By what power or by what name
have you done this?” Peter replied, “If we this day are judged for a good deed
done to a helpless man . . . let it be known to you all, and to all the people
of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,
whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole”
(Acts 4:7-10).
Kindness is a fruit of
the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) and a powerful context in which to genuinely speak to
others about the Lord.
Lord, help me to love
with both words and deeds,
To reach out to others
and meet their needs;
Lord, burden my heart
for those lost in sin,
With mercy and love
that flows from within. —Fitzhugh
One act of kindness
may teach more about the love of God than many sermons.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
