Appointments

My job involved almost constant interaction with people.  Meetings are just a way of life for me.  Consequently, it became very important for me to keep track of where I am supposed to be and at what time.  For a long time I carried a little pocket calendar to help keep me organized, but it had one flaw – I had to open it to know what my next appointment was.  Now I have found that the use of an electronic calendar satisfies more of my needs.  Not only does it keep track of my appointments, it will sound an alarm to remind me that I have a commitment approaching.

Acts 3
¹²Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. "People of Israel," he said, "what is so astounding about this? And why look at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power and godliness?  

Jesus’ earthly ministry was over.  He had suffered death on the cross, and returned to sit at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us.  After witnessing His ascension, the apostles and disciples had continued to gather and worship Jesus in anticipation of the coming of the Comforter – the Holy Spirit.  The Bible tells us in Acts 2 that, on the Day of Pentecost, they were all gathered together when the Spirit descended on them, thus beginning their post resurrection ministry.  From this point on, the “church” began to grow exponentially as the early believers did what Jesus had commanded when He said, “As you are going, make disciples.”

In this passage, Peter and John are on their way to the temple when they encounter a man who has been lame from birth.  For his entire life, friends and family had carried him to the temple each day to beg.  As the two apostles passed by him, he asked them for some money.  Peter explained that he had no money, but he had something better to give him.  Invoking the power of the name of Jesus, he helped the man to his feet and told him to walk – which he did.  Obviously this created quite a stir as the people had become used to seeing the man sitting there begging for money and now he is walking around and praising God.  A crowd soon gathered around Peter and John.

The Bible tells us that Peter saw this as an opportunity and started speaking to the crowd.  He had just been used of God to heal a lame man’s infirmity, but he was sensitive to the situation around him and recognized the potential of the moment.  He knew that this was an appointment arranged by the Father.  He also knew that this appointment was not a social event.  There was no small talk.  He made sure that they knew whom he represented and began to tell them about his Jesus.

God places opportunities like this in our paths every day.  There are no coincidences in the life of a child of God.  The people we encounter in our daily walk are there because God put them there.  Every event, every encounter is an opportunity to share and to learn.  They are our divine appointments.  The problem is that we don’t always look at our calendars as we are going about our daily lives, but there is a solution.  If we are sensitive to the leadership of God through the Holy Spirit, we, like Peter, will “see our opportunities.”  

We may never be called to “address the crowd,” but we are called to make disciples as we are going.  Listen to the Holy Spirit’s whisper.  He will remind you of your Divine Appointments.