To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

Acts 3:11-16 NIV

 

There’s nothing better than a captive audience, is there?  On this day, Peter had a perfect captive audience, a perfect opportunity to witness for Jesus.  And he grabbed onto it with gusto!  He probably had several hundred people standing around being amazed at what had happened.  Peter seized the moment and began to tell them about Jesus.  He started with telling them who Jesus was.  Then he reminded them of how the Jews had rejected Him, and explained why rejection of Jesus is a fatal error.  Then he told them exactly what they needed to do to change things… to repent of their sins (that’s more than asking for forgiveness - that’s turning away from the sin!), to turn to God so that those sins might be wiped out, to be filled with the refreshing of their spirits and to receive Christ Jesus as their Savior.  For years this man, Peter, had been boldly putting his foot in his mouth.  Now Jesus was using that boldness to proclaim the Good News of the Savior.

 

Every day things happen in our lives that give us a wide open opportunity to witness for Jesus.  Open displays of God’s mercy and grace are abundant… like that car we mentioned yesterday that was out of control and missed you by inches… or the job you got after being unemployed for months - and you got it despite everything going against you… or the fact that you "happened" to walk into someone’s office right at the moment they needed a word of encouragement that no one else could give… or the "coincidence" of standing in line somewhere right next to someone who needs to know about Jesus.

 

How many opportunities to witness do we pass up every day?  It could be in the hundreds.  I’m reminded of Carman’s song where a rude man pushes in front of him at MacDonald’s.  His first inclination is to deck the guy! But he realizes it would be awfully hard to witness to the man about Jesus if the man is lying on the floor with a black eye!  So the next time someone does something obnoxious to you, remember Carman’s line of thinking… it’s really tough to witness to someone you just slam dunked – either physically or verbally.  Try to look past the obnoxious behavior to the lost and hopeless person who needs Jesus much more than he needs a black eye or a good tongue lashing.

 

Watch for God’s miracles… His grace and His mercy… every day in your life.  And seize those miracles and displays of His goodness as opportunities to tell others about Jesus.  You have the Good News… share it!