Faith More Precious than Precious Metals

But Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have; but what I do have I give to you: In the name (authority, power) of Jesus CHrist the Nazarene- (begin now to) walk and go on walking!" Acts 3 v 6 Faith is more precious than gold and silver or even platinum for these precious but dead metals cannot cure the incurable, cannot give us what money or gold cannot buy -the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus. The crippled beggar never imagined that he would be delivered of his inability to walk which had afflicted him from birth. He only expected a few coins, even just nickel coins not even gold or silver. Peter had neither gold, silver or nickel coins with him that he could give. But he knew he had something more precious than all things that matters more than material riches. He exercised his faith to cause a great miracle to happen at the gate called Beautiful of the temple. The life of the nameless beggar which was miserable and ugly all the years of his life. He had to be set down every day at the gate of the temple to beg for alms, hoping worshippers of God will be charitable to him. But what Peter said and did turned his life into a beautiful life. Our ugly and miserable lives where we are merely begging God for something small and physical to meet our daily needs is transformed into a beautiful life when we receive the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. Just as the beggar who received healing not just of his crippled legs but of his entire being for he was healed of his inner blindness and ignorance of God, the Creator and Redeemer, the Healer and Deliverer, we receive the gift of faith. Faith in Jesus, in His authority as Author of our faith and Finisher of our Lives, meeting us at the point of our greatest need- the need to know and experience the love of God, is the Beautiful gate, the portal to a life of transformation, of significance, of power, of influence. Due to the faith imparted to us, we are no longer seekers of lucre, of gold and silver but we are seekers, worshippers of God revealed in and through Jesus Christ. Our faith is not crippled as it was from our birth but we are now enabled to walk by grace with God. We can walk and keep walking in the footsteps of Jesus, imparting the gift of faith, of healing and deliverance of all we encounter in our lives. We exercise power and authority like Peter did in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene.