Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner
“How about I grill this left-over chicken outside? The smoke flavor is great when the skin gets crispy. Look there are coals here from the other night. Why do these look so black and fresh out of the bag and those look, burnt, grey?”mac to God
“How will you start the fire?”God to mac
“Matches and lighter fluid, I guess. I miss my propane grill. That rotisserie was awesome. That sure lit up quick. Big flames. I better get the chicken”mac to God
“Put the lid on. How is the chicken doing now?”God to mac
“I better check. What the hell? Its cold. That ain't hell. Can I relight this? I mean these coals must be hot? The lighter-fluid will turn into a stream of fire when it hits those coals.”mac to God
“Light the fire again.”God to mac
“Right. Wait a minute, I need another match? Right. Get the box. Whoa, that's a flame. Well that ain't goin' out anytime soon. On with the chicken.”mac to God
“How is the chicken doing now?”God to mac
“Oh, I better look, it should be warm and smokey by now, I'm hungry. You're shitting me. So what do I do now? surely if I light this damn thing again the lighter fluid will be a stream of flames to the exploding carton. Really? light it again. Well, exactly how much fluid is too much. This should do, that's a stench on ice.”mac to God
“Get your chicken.”God to mac
“Hello, those be some burnt sacrifices. They smell more like lighter fluid than the char. I better give thanks for my dinner now.”
What the barbecue savvy reader understands is that the previous nights coals were immersed in water. Anyone who has had the privilege of a baptism of spirit knows full well is it resembles fire. The reason why the Christians in Acts were in an interior room, is because they could not be observed by the god of the world who was now peeping in windows, looking to get any intelligence possible on who was part of Christ's body. What we can't see, Satan can't see. When we have satellites in orbit that means that intel, data, Satan can get a look at. We can't see Satan now and she is limited to the intelligence she can get man to gather for her for her heavenly view.
As much as mac would like to blame the Smokey Joe grill she bought September 1st she still used the coals that were on the grill rather than dumping the old coals out, clean the grill, and use fresh coals. God didn't make a demand of her that she, clean out the grill. What He told her later was that three times He tried to get Joe to listen to Him and not his own sinful heart about that damned march. Joe denied God three times.
Did not Peter do the same thing? The Christ even prophesied this to Peter. A warning. Peter still did not see how he was in denial at that moment until after his third offence. All a righteous person can do is shake their head in wonder at the horror of an individual not listening to God.
Take you hand off your heart to listen to God. Open the bible. With a few verses and a prayer, because God has His possession, He can reach every man, woman, and child (recall young Samuel?) of this earth. There is no reason to be incinerated by baptism.
What did the Jews understand about the Christ? There was no way that could be their deliverer because the Christ was refusing kingship. They understood that a great prophet was among them, the greater Elijah. What they knew was that their deliverer was two things, God's womb of creation and king. Naturally, when they didn't see what they were expecting at that time their fear gave way to anger. Does that make killing the Christ good? No. Just an event that was not to be avoided to fulfilGod's law.
The Christ, as Jesus, was a minor, all be it, fabulous minor fulfillment that came first. After Elijah there is Elisha. When Christ speaks of the things of his kingdom these are the things to expect in his kingdom. What God requires of us, is to rely on His leadership for that wonderful kingdom's fulfillment.
Jews of Jesus day struggled because of the myriad of false reasoning and notions about God that had alienated them from understanding what God was teaching them by Jesus walking among them not seeking kingship. Knife in hand, when a absent minded moment takes you from your dexterity, understand that superficial knife point in your palm was God saying, "You need to get the point." It is very possible to be in a place during God's leadership where you cry, "You lie."