THE VERSE
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.~Acts 4:13
THE THOUGHT
Take note of this verse, everyone who is discouraged by their lack of skills and talents! What God values, and what God uses, is not wisdom or strength or cleverness or intelligence or education or talent or ability. In fact, those things are more often than not barriers to God using an individual. God is not glorified when talented people use their talents; rather, God is made to look great when He works in and through weakness. Then God gets the credit, not us. God is not looking for smart people; He is looking for surrendered people.What matters is not your education or intellect; the real question to ask is, "Have I been with Jesus?" To be with Jesus is to be in the presence of the one who brings dead hearts to life, who empowers weakness with His strength, who uses what is weak and foolish to shame the wise and strong. To be with Jesus is to be connected to the vine, apart from whom you can do nothing. To be with Jesus, seeing Him in His Word and speaking to Him in prayer, is the central pursuit of the Christian life. For this pursuit we were saved, and it is in this pursuit that we will find everything we need to face each day.
Another question to ask yourself is: "Can people tell that I have been with Jesus?" Like Peter and John, has your time with the risen Savior so illuminated your life with Spirit-wrought boldness that it is plain to those around you? If you are not taking away any transformation from your time with God each day, you should probably question whether you're really spending time with Him at all. To be with Jesus, to gaze upon His glory in the Word, is to be transformed more into His likeness in a concrete way that the people around you can see. Have you been with Jesus? And can people see the difference?
THE PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I want to be with You and see Your glory. Open my eyes to see You living in the pages of Scripture. Open my heart to hear Your living Word to me. Speak to me through Your Spirit, and make me more like You. Be honored in my life of dependent weakness. I know Your grace is sufficient for me; help me to cling to Your grace every day.EXTENDED READING
Acts 4:8-141 Corinthians 1:26-31
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
John 15:4-8
THE QUOTE
“Batter my heart, three-personed God…Bend your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.” ~John DonneTHROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Jeremiah 32-34Ecclesiastes 10
John 4:27-42
1 Peter 1:1-9
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