HOW TO GATHER A CROWD -- Devotional for May 21, from "Good Seeds"

When a lame man saw Peter and John entering the temple he ask for alms. Peter said, “We have no money, but what we do have we give unto you.” And with that he lifted the man by the hand and said, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, walk!” Immediately the man stood up, walked, and then began leaping and praising God. People gathered, staring in disbelief. When Peter saw this, he spoke up, “Men of Israel…” (Acts 3:3,6-8,11-12)

When our daughters were in their teens they went on a summer gospel team to Europe. They followed a simple formula: pick a public place and start entertaining. With their song, puppet, pantomime and clown acts (this was serious clowning – not just “clowning around”) they were able to gather a crowd in no time. After giving the people a good show, they invited them to stay around to talk. They unabashedly announced that they had another even more important reason why they were there, and then began to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, one on one, with those who lingered. The announcement that “religion” was their real purpose would of course send most of the people packing, but seeing the robust faith in the faces and antics of these dedicated teens caused some tourists to risk staying around for another sermon, in words this time. Now Peter and John had no such plan in mind to preach that day – they were just going to the temple to pray. But when the lame man accosted them, Peter sensed a holy boldness inside that could not be denied or held back. What else could have given him the audacity to look the man straight in the eye and say, “In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk!” I mean, what if it didn’t work? Peter would be red-faced, John would disappear into the temple, the lame man, joined by the crowd, would be saying, “What kind of sick joke would make a man…” But none of these doubts entered Peter’s thinking, and none of these doubtful things happened. God was gathering a crowd to hear the gospel, and He knew this was the only way to do it, on that particular day in that particular place. The lesson here is clear: We need to be ready to preach, pray or die at a moment’s notice (May 20). In this case, it wasn’t praying, or dying, it was preaching. God did all the preparation: the cripple’s desperate plea, Peter’s empty pockets, the Holy Spirit unction to face and heal the man, and then the most important thing of all – for Peter to see the whole thing as a side event (not a sideshow) leading to the main event: an opportunity to share Christ with a crowd that had been miraculously gathered and prepared. How about you and me? Will we be ready, when Jesus wants to use us to speak boldly for Him?