Random Encounter - The Libyan Who Met Jesus

The day of Jesus’ death brought a seemingly random encounter with a man whose story is anything but random. Luke put it this way: And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus (Luke 23:26).

Why do Matthew, Mark, and Luke all reveal the name of a man who was only a face in the crowd? The movies always have uncredited characters – the guy holding the elevator, people seated at the next table in the restaurant. Why should this “bit player” in the drama of the cross be named? Simon. And not only named, but we’re told where he’s from: Simon of Cyrene. Why?

After the Supreme Court Ruling: The Biggest Danger to the Church

Last week’s Supreme Court decision on homosexual marriage has sent shock waves through the American Church. Many people of faith are afraid of the consequences of this decision. They predict the church will lose its tax exempt status, will be subject to crippling lawsuits, and that clergy who decline to perform homosexual weddings will be heavily penalized.

I confess fearing these things, too. But I think the greatest danger for the church is that it will become “the church.” Here's what I mean:

Painting the Dragon Red

Years ago some church planting friends asked my wife to be on their prayer team. They recruited thirty-one people who promised to fast and pray one day a week for the new church. Dionne’s day was the 11^th of the month.

As she prayed on one of her designated days, she suddenly felt that the Holy Spirit was warning her about a demonic plot to sneak a deceptive and disruptive person into the baby church - someone who could do great damage.

Son of Peace

Our congregation is hoping to plant a church in a new community about 20 minutes from our town. One of the prayers we’re praying is that God would lead us to a “son of peace.”

The idea is to follow Jesus’ strategy when He sent out the seventy-two. He told them Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. Luke 10:5-6.

The peace of Christ flows through "sons of peace." God has prepared them, and His grace is evident in them. Jesus said to look for people in whom God is at work, people who will become the open door to a neighborhood, village, or region. The gospel will enter where God’s grace has already prepared the way.

Years ago in one of my church plants I had knocked on hundreds of doors and made contacts with many unchurched people who seemed interested. But I didn’t have one solid “person of peace,” and I was discouraged. I’ll never forget the lonely week when I felt like quitting.

I was not a rookie and had been facing church planting challenges for years. But this discouragement seemed more intense. Part of it was that I was sick that week. An infection made my body achy and slightly feverish. I just felt like staying in bed. But somehow I knew that if I didn’t drag myself out of the house, I might give up entirely.

So I drove to a new housing tract not far from our house, and began knocking on doors. About half-way down the block the door opened, and when I began to talk to the woman of the house, I felt immediately that she was the "daughter of peace” I had hoped to meet. She was a warm, hospitable person who opened her home for a neighborhood Bible study.

Finding her was a breakthrough in getting that church started. People in her neighborhood became Christians and began attending the new church. She was a “daughter of peace.”

Christ gave us more than good advice. Finding the “son of peace” is about looking for where He is working and then following Him. It’s not launching out with our plans and asking Got to bless them. It’s planning as much as we can, all the while seeking evidence of the grace of God as they key to our next step.

That’s how Christian ministry must be done. But even more basically, it’s how we live the Christian life. Because when you and I are looking for the opening, the solution, the next step, the right direction, the key to moving forward, we’re really looking for the Son of Peace, Jesus.

We’re looking for His grace to lead us. He is the key to everything. He’s the Door, the Way, the Beginning and the End. All we hope for, the good and the eternal, the longing of our hearts and the healing of our souls, peace with God and peace with man - it all comes from the Son of Peace.