Acts 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
After this, Peter preaches a short sermon to the people explaining what had happened. This is then followed by Peter and John get promptly arrested.
????? That doesn't seem right.
The Bible tells us how our enemy Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat. The Bible also says he is the father of all lies. The Bible also tells us that he hates us. The Bible tells us . . . You get the point.
One of Satans tricks is so familiar we don't even notice it. Punish anything good. Make it look like a bad thing. Discourage people from doing the right thing. This is probably why we sometimes say, "No good deed goes unpunished." The world will never accept anything good from God. It will always think that faith in Christ and the good deeds it produces are bad for culture and society.
So what do you do? What Peter and John did.
Don't focus on the world, focus on the need. People need Jesus. Pray for them, encourage them, teach them and help them.
Speak the truth in love. While the world would prefer you didn't say anything about Jesus, that's too bad. Speak up and let people know that God loves them and He proved that love through His Son Jesus.
Getting punished? Good. James says, James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, It means you're doing the right thing as opposed to doing the popular thing.
PRAY: Dear Jesus, help me to do the good things today. AMEN
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