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TITLE: Getting It Right
DATE: November 30, 2018 TEXT: Acts 10:38b-40 - (ESV) – (Jesus) went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did…They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day…” In Australia, terrorist Hassan Khalif Shire Ali had been quite successful in wielding his knife. Two people were dead, two others were wounded. It was a “target-rich” environment as people gathered to see what was going on. One of the newcomers to the scene was a homeless man by the name of Michael Rogers. Having made a quick assessment of the situation, Rogers grabbed a trolley (what we in the US of A call a shopping cart, and pushed it at Ali. Although Ali was stunned and shocked, he didn’t go down. No, he staggered across the street where Rogers clobbered him again with that same trolley. The end result of the encounter was Ali was eventually shot and killed by the police and Australia started to praise Michael Rogers, proclaiming him to be a modern-day hero. Speaking both candidly and honestly, Rogers replies, “I’m no hero.” Indeed, if you look at his past, you would be compelled to agree. Consider…
In spite of his checkered past and all his denials, when the terrorist began to slash at random individuals, Michael Rogers did get his act together. He stepped forward and took a stand. Part of the reason Michael did what he did was to please grandma. Thinking of her he said, “She would have been exceptionally proud.” But there’s something else Michael said… something else you should hear. Trying to discover for himself the main motivator for his action, Michael reflected, "I just wanted to help and do something right for the first time in my life." Well, the people of Australia have looked at the video of this event and wish to encourage and thank Michael so he may continue to do what is right. As this devotion was being written, over $130,000 had been raised to help this homeless hero. It is a proper response. Of course, not all responses are as proper. For example, consider the response to our Savior. Unlike Michael, Jesus didn’t do just one or two good deeds. No, not at all. His entire life was spent doing good. He healed the sick, gave peace to those who were troubled, raised the dead, freed the possessed, was a Friend to the lonely; and a Defender of the weak. And what response did all of Jesus’ good-deed doing bring forth from the hearts and minds of His contemporaries? Simply stated, they hatred Him. Their hatred showed itself most obviously when Jesus was arrested, unjustly tried and wrongfully crucified. It was the greatest miscarriage of justice this world has ever seen. Thankfully, the Heavenly Father used His Son’s sacrifice to rescue lost souls and damned humanity. With Jesus’ resurrection, the Lord kept His promise to rescue sinners who are brought to faith in the Savior. THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that I may do things right… and if possible, let some of those right things be pointing people to their Savior. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen. Today’s devotion was inspired by various articles, amongst which is the one written by Neal Colgrass for Newser on November 11, 2018. Those who wish may check out this link which was, at the time of writing, fully active: http://www.newser.com/story/267102/homeless-guy-who-hit-terrorist-im-no-hero.html The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann, one of my long-ago confirmands. He is singing with three brothers. This song comes from the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html
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