Saturday, June 14, 2014 [With Jesus]
"39 …The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them. 40 But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, "Get up, Tabitha." And she opened her eyes!
(Acts 9:39b-40a, NLT)
Dèjá vu: a French term, which literally means, "already seen."
It feels like this moment has already happened previously in the history of the early church. However, it has not. What has already happened is the raising of Jairus' daughter from the dead. This was a miracle performed by Jesus, Himself (see Mark 5 or Luke 8). Jesus went to Jairus' house, even after it was reported that Jairus' daughter was dead. He dismissed everyone from the room except Peter, James, John, and the girl's parents. Then, Jesus said to the girl, "Talitha koum," which means "Little girl, get up!" Miraculously, she arose from the dead.
Peter was there that day. He saw what Jesus did and I think that Peter was also amazed to see the authority and power that Jesus wielded for the glory of God. Peter was one of those who were sent out by Jesus to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and raise the dead. He was there at the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000; he saw Jesus walk on water; he heard Jesus handle the questions and arguments of the Pharisees and still proclaim the kingdom of God; he was there when Jesus was crucified and there when Jesus appeared in His resurrected body three days later. Peter was not perfect. He was impulsive, he denied knowing Jesus, and he was depressed when Jesus was crucified. However, he was a part of Jesus' inner-circle, the ones who always seemed to be around. As Peter entered the house where the deceased Tabitha lay, I can imagine him remembering the time when he was with Jesus and Jairus' daughter had been pronounced dead. Similar to Jesus, Peter dismissed everyone from the room, he knelt down, prayed, and then said, "Tabitha, get up."
Yesterday, Travis wrote about Ananias, a regular guy, who followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. What I took away from Travis' blog was that extraordinary things happen when ordinary people listen and follow Our Extraordinary God. Peter was another one of those ordinary people – a regular person like you or me. However, one of the biggest differences between Peter and us is how much time he spent with Jesus. Flaws and all, Peter spent time with Jesus. Though he was imperfect, he was with the Savior…listening and watching - questioning, but following. Peter didn't have superpowers. Instead, like all believers, Peter had a relationship with an amazing Savior. That relationship was nurtured by the time they spent together, time being aware of Jesus' Presence and being sensitive to His Heart. We all have the same amount of time each day – 24 hours. The difference was how much authority Peter gave Jesus over his 24.
In what areas of your daily life do you need to be more sensitive to Jesus' presence and His desires for your life?
What are some ways that you can be more sensitive to Jesus for more of your day?
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