10-6-2020

 Good Morning All, 

         Acts 4: 29-30; “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

    Have you ever watched one of the reality TV shows where they ask you “what would you do?”  They set up a situation and see how you would react.  One of the situations has a mother yelling at her child in a grocery store.  One situation has a customer berating a waitress.  One situation has a person yelling at a homeless person on the street.  They use a hidden camera and watch to see how people react.  Some intervene while most simply stay out of the situation.  More people will defend the child more than the other two.  Most people just walked away from the homeless person.  This is about what you expect.

    So, what do you do when real life strikes?  I was at the local grocery store recently.   As I was getting in my pickup, a couple about three vehicles down started arguing and they were not quiet about it.  Apparently, the wife was going to walk off with one less bag of grocery than they paid for.  The checkout guy caught them and gave the bag to her.  The husband berated the wife about how forgetful and careless she was.  He used a fair number of colorful adjectives to reinforce his opinion.  She was not shy in reacting to his commentary and was just as colorful.  The argument continued as they got in their vehicle and drove off.  I stood there somewhat baffled.  As I drove away, I thought; that could have very easily become violent.  It still might have later.  What would I have done?  Would I have scurried away, or would I have intervened?  In all honesty, I am not sure.

    In this situation and in many others, it might do us to remember this prayer of the early church.  When faced with persecution, threats of death or imprisonment they prayed this prayer.  “Grant to your servants to continue to speak your words with all boldness”, how often do we miss an opportunity to speak God’s truth, to let God’s Word be spoken to bring healing because we were afraid, because we were not bold?  How often do we avoid speaking because we are unwilling to stand up?

    We need to boldly speak God’s Word.  We need to speak God’s Word so that his healing Spirit will go forth throughout the world.  In order to do this, we need courage and power; we need the power of the Holy Spirit to move us to speak God’s love to a broken and corrupt world.  We need to speak with our mouths and our hands, our arms, and our shoulders.  God’s Word must be heard, and it is heard best when compassion abounds.

Father, send your mighty Spirit and give to me the boldness to speak to this broken and dying world.  Stretch your hand, O Lord, and bring healing to the land.  Bring healing to the broken marriages, to the hurting souls, to the lost and to those who have hardened their hearts to you.  Move among us, revive us that Your Word may be boldly and confidently spoken to the brokenness that so many know.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret