They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” (Acts 4:7)
“No service” is a frustrating cellphone message to receive. So much of the technology encased in the phone is useless without a network connection. Only being within a service provider’s range makes a phone call or a text message possible. So, a common discussion among cellphone customers is the capability and reliability of their service provider. They wonder, “Will I be able to connect?”
Peter and John faced a question about their spiritual service provider. Their interrogators, the Sanhedrin, wanted to trap them in their testimonies, so they asked them about their connection: “By what power or what name” was the lame man healed? Was it magic or a miracle? If it was magic, they assumed it could be duplicated, but if it was a miracle, the religious leaders knew that they had a public relations problem.
The world knows about magic, but it has little understanding of miracles. It waits for your teaching or testimony to hear about what only God can do. But even then, you will need a reliable connection to the Source in order to convey your message. Your connection to Jesus by the power of his Holy Spirit is necessary to relay your testimony and to influence others for the kingdom. So, maintaining a good connection will help you avoid a bad reception
Check your spiritual connection to God daily through prayer and Bible study.
Jerry Brecheisen is an author and ordained elder who served The Wesleyan Church as a pastor and director of communications at the headquarters in Indiana.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
