Acts 3:1-10

Acts 3:1-10
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  You reach a point where you feel like you've seen everything, like you understand.  When I hear politicians promise something, I just sort of shut my ears off, because I have learned by now that whatever is promised probably won't come to fruition and if it does, it'll be some watered down version.  I don't have a truly open heart or mind -- I think I've seen it all sometimes.
  So this beggar had been lame from birth, having been carried everywhere for every day of his life.  For a time he might have held out hope for a miracle, and he's probably seen all sorts of acts of generosity -- big and small, authentic and designed to draw attention.  Who knows how many people have tried to help, and he's probably not expecting much from people at this point.  I'm guessing he tries to get alms but little else from people.
  So when Peter turned his full attention on him and started out by saying that he didn't have silver or gold, he probably shut part of his mind off, thinking that he wasn't getting anything useful.  But then God surprises, breaking in to the monotony of the ordinary and doing something dramatic, something new, something miraculous.  God interrupts our patterns to establish a new way of being, bringing dramatic healing and reconciliation and new life to this man, even though he wasn't expecting it.
  Now, imagine what God, who has already broken the power of sin and death, might have in store for us...