Friday, January 2, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Acts 3
Key Verse
Acts 3:14 — “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;”
Devotional Thought
The first days of January often find us making lists of what we lack—a better job, better health, a fresh start. But Acts 3 opens with a man who had lacked since birth. Lame from his mother’s womb, he was carried daily to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he begged alms from those entering to pray. He had never walked, never worked, never worshiped inside those courts. He asked Peter and John for silver and gold, expecting nothing more than coins to sustain another day of the same. How often we settle for small mercies when God intends to give us wholeness?
Peter fastened his eyes on the man and said, “Look on us.” Then came the words that still echo: “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. The man leaped, stood, walked, and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. The beggar at the gate became a worshiper in the house. Those who knew him were filled with wonder and amazement.
When the crowd ran together in Solomon’s porch, Peter refused the credit. He pointed away from himself to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had glorified His Son Jesus—the Holy One and the Just, the Prince of life, whom they had denied and killed, but whom God raised from the dead. Peter did not soften their guilt, yet he named their ignorance and called them to repentance: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
This new year, we may be tempted to ask God only for survival—enough to get through the week. But the risen Christ offers more than alms. He offers soundness, forgiveness, and refreshing. Like the lame man, we cannot heal ourselves; we must let Him take us by the hand and lift us up. And like Peter, we must be ready to give what we have—not our own power, but the name of Jesus, spoken in faith to those who sit at our own gates, expecting little.
Reflection
- Where in your life are you asking God merely for alms—just enough to get by—when He is offering you the full strength of Christ to rise and walk?
- When God works through you, do you point to your own holiness or to the name of Jesus, as Peter did before the crowd in Solomon’s porch?
Prayer
Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we come before You as beggars who have too long settled for crumbs. You have glorified Your Son Jesus, the Holy One and the Just, the Prince of life, and in His name there is power to make the lame walk and the sinner whole. Forgive us for looking to silver and gold, to our own strength and schemes, rather than to the risen Christ. Take us by the right hand, lift us up, and set our feet on solid ground. Grant us repentance and times of refreshing from Your presence, that we may rise and walk and leap, praising You in Your house and among Your people. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, amen.