Theme of the Week: Saying Yes to Jesus
Bible Verse: “I have brought You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave me to do.” John 17:4
Scripture Reading: Acts 3:1-26
Jesus didn’t heal him.
Acts 3 has been a choice tool for necessary pruning in my life. Peter and John go to the temple, meet a man “lame from birth” and tell him to walk by the power of Jesus. He staggers, he stands, he walks, and he jumps! He praises! I’ve imagined that scene occurring in the church I serve. I can picture the impromptu worship service that would occur. Instead of grumbling that we went too long, no one would want to go home. We’d praise and laugh. We’d order pizza and fill coffee cups with wine. We’d exclaim and delight alongside our newly healed brother.
The pruning occurred when I was taught that Jesus didn’t heal this man during His earthly ministry. The man in Acts 3 had been at the temple gates “every day” and was 40 years old. That makes me wonder how many times Jesus walked by Him. How many times did the Great Physician leave him in the waiting room? How many others did Jesus walk by? (see John 5)
Many times Jesus seems to have walked by the sick without healing them. Yet at the end of His life, Jesus says that He has “finished” the work the Father gave Him. That once deeply unsettled me.
Social media, globalization, internet, and activism have made us more aware than ever of all the good that needs to be done. Some of us tend toward apathy and might need to hear Jesus’ continual invitation to work. Others of us take it all on. We’re always saying “yes” without listening for the Spirit’s invitation. And there’s always too much to do. We get exhausted, burnt out, and bitter with those who don’t help themselves or others as much as we do.
My dad often says, “the need is not the call.” Saying “yes” to Jesus doesn’t mean saying “yes” to all good work. Saying “yes” to Jesus means listening to the Father and taking part in the work He’s calling us to. I pray that we’ll be people who habitually say “yes” to the work God gives us, while learning to discern which good works to leave in the Father’s capable hands.
Prayer: Lord, reveal the burdens, duties and responsibilities I’m carrying that you have not given me. Help me trust you enough to relinquish them and leave them in Your hands. Help me say “yes” to what You’re asking of me.
Reflection: Do you tend to say “yes” to more or less than what Jesus is calling you to? Ask God to help you understand why that is and what habits and beliefs might contribute to it.
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