Men of Peace

8/28/13              Ahmad (mid 20's),  and others                

Had a great time of fellowship and blessing tonight with the New Life “prayerwalking” group from the Bridgeport location.  We went out to offer prayers of blessing for the neighborhood and with individuals we met along the way.  Just like Cornelius, the Roman centurion described in Acts 10 as “devout and God-fearing”, we met several people who were “God fearing” enough to have good conversations about gospel truths.  I began a conversation with one such man, Ahmad, a doctoral student from Egypt, by saying “Excuse me, we’re from a church nearby and want to be a blessing to people in the neighborhood, so I’m wondering if there is anything we can pray about for you.”  This began a long conversation about the similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity.  We established early on the benefit of understanding and respecting our differences, so Jake and I were able to explain to Ahmad why as Christians we believe it is so important that Jesus was telling the truth when He claims to be God’s Son; Creator, not creation; far more than the human prophet that Islam attributes Him to be.  Only a sacrifice of infinite value would be a worthy substitute for the penalty we deserve for our sins against an infinitely holy God.  On an intellectual level, Ahmad received this and our invitation to church gladly; lets pray the Holy Spirit reaches him at the heart level.  When Jesus sent out his disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God in Luke 10, he said there would “men of peace” that they should stay with.  Tonite, we found several men of peace – God-fearing people like Cornelius, and, I believe, Ahmad, who are open to hearing the good news we have to share.  I’m so glad to be a part of New Life Community Church here in Chicago, especially when our church encourages us to bring the good news of Jesus out of the church building and into the streets and neighborhoods and marketplaces all around us, where, as Jesus also said in Luke 10, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few…”