Thursday April 19th, 2018 Acts 4:5-12
When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"(verse 7)
Some time ago, my then 14-year-old daughter and her friend wanted to sing a rock song in church. I listened to the song, not quite hearing the words correctly I suggested that the song was not quite church material. Several months later I heard the same song, “What if God Were One of Us,” in a less amplified version. With excitement and pleasure I took the song to my daughter and said why don’t you and your friend sing this song in church? “Dad, that’s the song you told us was inappropriate when we asked. We are not singing it now.”
There are many things that pastors, political leaders and Pharisees simply cannot hear because of their deafness to new ideas. I was and still am like that. The leaders who imprisoned Peter were like that. What of us? How do we hear the good news that Jesus is healing the broken hearted, that God is still trying to fix creation in the midst of global warming and pollution. It is my prayer that we can hear this good news. It is what sets us free.
God, open our eyes, our ears and our hearts that we might truly see you calling us to heal our relationship with you and each other. Amen. — RDL
Contributed by Let’s Be Open
Some time ago, my then 14-year-old daughter and her friend wanted to sing a rock song in church. I listened to the song, not quite hearing the words correctly I suggested that the song was not quite church material. Several months later I heard the same song, "What if God Were One of Us," in a less amplified version. With excitement and pleasure I took the song to my daughter and said why don't you and your friend sing this song in church? "Dad, that's the song you told us was inappropriate when we asked. We are not singing it now."
There are many things that pastors, political leaders and Pharisees simply cannot hear because of their deafness to new ideas. I was and still am like that. The leaders who imprisoned Peter were like that. What of us? How do we hear the good news that Jesus is healing the broken hearted, that God is still trying to fix creation in the midst of global warming and pollution. It is my prayer that we can hear this good news. It is what sets us free.
