Denying Our Creator Isn’t An Option…

Why is it some people cave when it comes to peer pressure and some don’t? I don’t have an exact answer, but I can say that once you have experienced God’s grace, His love, and His Holy Spirit, you simply cannot deny His existence, His power, or His sovereignty. You can say “He doesn’t exist”, but it will just be empty words. You can’t deny a real life experience. You may interpret it differently, but you certainly can’t deny it didn’t happen. Christians view life from an experiential/relational standpoint. Denying our Creator isn’t an option. Simply put, the Israelite religious leaders couldn’t deny the miracle that took place when Peter healed the lame beggar. They couldn’t figure out what to do to suppress this “Jesus” movement. The last resort (the last weapon in the bag) that the opposition has when trying to combat/oppose God, is threatening and name calling. Sound familiar?

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say. 15 So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber and conferred among themselves.16 “What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” 18 So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him? 20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”21 The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God 22 for this miraculous sign–the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years. Acts 4:13-22