Nothing Special

Yesterday, Johnny Stevens came by the church.  As he drove down Highway 88, he noticed a man who was laying in the road there in front of the church halfway on the sidewalk, halfway in the road.  Johnny stopped to check on him and learned that he had a prosthetic leg, was quite elderly, and was unable to get himself up.  He lay there an hour before anyone came by willing to stop and help.  Johnny helped him up…put the man in the car…drove him home several miles away…then came by the church to pack a box of food for him before going to the grocery store to buy him some meat and bread.  The man had been on his way to the food bank to get some much needed supplies but his physical and mental condition made the trip impossible.

Sound familiar?  Yep, Luke 10:25-37!  Jesus tells of the Samaritan man who stopped to help a forsaken traveler after a couple of “churchgoers” passed him by.  He bandaged his wounds, put him on his own donkey, carried him into town, and paid for stay in a bed-and-breakfast place while he recovered from his injuries.

(Just for the record, I did not travel on Highway 88 yesterday morning….whew!!!!  I’m off the hook!)

When Johnny came by, I thought, “what if I had seen the man?”  I decided to quickly pass over that thought process.  I HOPE I would have noticed him and helped him.  Then, I thought about you all.  Were any of you passersby yesterday morning?

Jesus didn’t elevate the Samaritan man.  Generally speaking, Samaritans weren’t that good.  But this guy put the needs of the helpless man in the road ahead of his own and did what was right, though it was probably inconvenient.  Jesus’ story about this man was just a parable, but Johnny got to live it out.  Johnny Stevens is a special man, but not because of what he did yesterday.  Yesterday, he didn’t do anything special.  He just did what any Christian would do, right?!?  After all, Jesus’ tells us at the end of that story, “Go and do likewise.”

What I Didn’t Tell You Sunday!

There’s this weird little incident near the end of Act 1 where the disciples do something that we would consider strange.  Judas Iscariot has committed suicide after his betrayal of Jesus, and now there’s only eleven left in Jesus’ band of disciples.  So, in the midst of all the turmoil we talked about yesterday that they are facing in the first chapter of Acts, you can add this to it.  They are dealing with Jesus’ departure, waiting on the promised Holy Spirit, and going through all the emotions that are attached to losing a friend (remember….though Judas was a traitor, he had been one of them).  It is messy, and they are grieving.  Committed, they know the ministry must go on.  They must fill the vacancy left by Judas.  Look at what they do. 

“And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”  And they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:24-27).

How crazy is that?  They’re facing one of the biggest decisions of their lives, and they just roll the dice, play the lottery, gamble for the right decision!?!  Why would they do that?  Why would they choose Matthias that way?   Would we ever make such a vital decision based on what seems like chance?  No!   And the reason is because we cannot fathom making a decision like that without the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  But, the Holy Spirit had not come yet…remember?  They didn’t have this constant presence of God with them like we do.  They had not experienced that supernatural energy we talked about yesterday.  They didn’t know the ever-present bidding and power of the Holy Spirit yet.

The most exciting part of this story to me is that you will never find it in scripture again.  NEVER!!  You will never find anyone casting lots, rolling the dice, consulting the stars, or calling the Psychic Hotline to determine the will of God again.  Why?  Because in Acts 2, the Spirit came.  In Acts 1, they are anticipating what God might do.  Hereafter, they are empowered with the very Spirit of God.

You have received power.  The Holy Spirit is in you.  You will be His witness…Won’t You?

The Heavy Gospel

My heart breaks when people want to beat others up with the gospel. The two ideas are mutually exclusive. It cannot be gospel (good news) if it is burdensome and punitive. One of my favorite stories of grace in scripture is when the woman who was caught in adultery was brought to Jesus. Those who brought her were hoping for a holy smack-down. Jesus was so not a part of what they wanted to do that he thought drawing in the dirt would be more productive. One of my professors wrote, “Sin was not treated lightly by Jesus, but sinners were offered opportunity to start life anew.” I pray that you are not misled by “gospel thugs” who would beat you up with Jesus. I pray you would not be drawn in by those who would be “gospel brokers,” thinking they distribute the new life on His behalf. He almost ignored those types of people in scripture, except when He put them in their place (as only He could do). Peter, you didn’t have to walk on water before you were loved by Jesus. Gentiles, you didn’t have to be circumcised to be included in the Way. Oh, and Cameron, you don’t have to quit playing practical jokes (harmless ones) to be right with the Lord!