Expecting the Impossible

In Genesis 24, when Abraham sent his servant back to his homeland to find a bride for Isaac, the servant was concerned as to how he would know which lady was to be the one. We can learn some things from the way he handled this situation. He did not form a committee, he didn't formulate a plan, he didn't take out an ad in the local paper. He simply prayed. We could take care of most of our problems in life, if we would handle them with prayer. But we can learn even more from this servant. He asked God to move on the right woman to do what no one in their right mind would do: get water not only for him, but for all 10 camels that he had with him. Archaeology tells us that the wells from that time and part of the world were typically at least 25 steps down a hole in the ground. Based on the size of the containers she could carry and how much water a camel would drink after a multi-day journey through the wilderness, it is safe to say she would have to make 50plus trips up and down those 25 steps. Like I said, he asked for something that no one in their right mind would do. But, this is the servant that saw a 90plus year old woman give birth to a son. He knew Jehovah and that Jehovah is a miracle-working God. We need to learn from this servant that not only should we be handling our problems with prayer, but that we should be asking God for the impossible. Basically, he was saying, Lord, I'm asking for something so impossible that if You don't do it, it can't be done. This is what Gabriel was trying to tell Mary when he told her she was going to have a son. She said that's impossible, I haven't been with a man. Gabriel said the Holy Ghost will come upon you. See, that is the difference in the impossible and the possible, between the natural and the supernatural. It is time that we as Christians stop expecting just the natural and the possible and start asking for and expecting the impossible and the supernatural. That's what God wants to give us. We need to say like Mary and say to the Lord, "Be it unto me, according to Thy word."

Doubting Thomas?

As I sit and watch The Bible on the history channel, I am thankful that a major network is showing this. There are, of course, a few errors and omissions, which is to be expected in a 10 hour miniseries, but they have done a pretty good job telling the story. One of the mistakes, was Thomas's confession when Jesus appeared to the disciples. I understand that they have to cut things out for the sake of time, so I can understand it been shown as happening during Christ's first appearance to the disciples. However, on the show, Thomas simply said "It is you." This shows his doubts turning to belief, but Thomas said so much more. John 20:28 tells us that Thomas said, "My Lord and my God." Peter had called Jesus 'the Christ, the son of the living God' when Jesus asked him who the disciples said he was, but this is the first recorded time that someone called Jesus God. What a great confession Thomas made that day. To this day, the term 'doubting Thomas' is used to describe anyone who has to 'see to believe'. But rather than remember Thomas's doubts, we should remember and echo his confession that day: "My Lord and my God."

Especially Peter

With Easter approaching, like most Christians I have been thinking about the resurrection recently. Some of my favorite words in the entire Bible were said that first Easter morning. In Mark 16 we are told about the women going to the tomb to anoint the Lord's body. We are all familiar with this story. They approach the tomb, wondering who is going to move the stone for them, when they see the angel. He tells them to go and tell the disciples that the Lord is risen. Verse 7 of Mark 16 says, "But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you." It's a small thing that most people probably look over and don't even notice, but it's there. He said "His disciples AND Peter". This is just a few hours after Peter denied him, so it would be easy to think that the angel was excluding Peter as one of His disciples. However, this is not at all what is being said. The ISV renders it this way, "His disciples-especially Peter- that Jesus is going..." Do you see how great these words are? He didn't mention any of the other disciples by name, not even John. Why? It's not because Peter was His favorite or because He was less concerned with the other disciples. It is because Peter is still in the midst of a cloud of guilt from His denial of Jesus just a few hours earlier. At this point, He feels not only guilt, but shame as well. He has done the one thing that he said he would not do. At the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples that they would all deny Him, and Peter speaks up and says, "Not me. Even if everybody else does, I will never deny you." We know the story. Jesus tells Peter that before morning comes he will have denied him 3 times. The cock crowing that morning sounded to Peter like the words of Nathan the prophet to King David when he confronted him about his affair with Bathsheeba and the ensuing cover up. Nathan pointed at David and said "thou art the man". That's the same thing Peter was hearing when the cock crowed. He feels like a failure, a reject. It's in the midst of this setting that the angel tells the ladies to find the disciples and especially Peter. What a great story for anyone that feels the sting of guilt. And, if we are honest with ourselves, we have all been there. So, the next time you feel the sting of guilt, the shame of failure, remember what the angel said to the women on that first Easter morning, especially Peter. So, today let me remind you, when you fail, when you are burdened by guilt, Jesus is saying tell my disciples, especially you, that I am risen, that I am coming again.

Both American and Christian

Since the death of Usama Bin Laden there have been many celebrations across our country. Many Christians have questioned the idea of celebrating the death of even such a terrible man. And they are right to question this. As Christians we should never ever celebrate the death of a person who does not know the Lord. It is a tragic event when someone dies without the Lord. Just as we should celebrate with the angels anytime someone gets saved, we should mourn the death of someone who dies outside of the knowledge of Christ. However, I submit that the majority of celebration was not over the death of this man. It was rather a celebration of justice. It was a celebration of closure for the family members of over 3,000 dead Americans murdered on September 11, 2001. A celebration of the end of a tyrant. A celebration of the death of an enemy of Israel. It was a celebration of the fact that unlike Korea, unlike Vietnam, unlike Beruit, unlike Somalia the 2,340 deaths of coalition forces in Afghanistan were not in vain. It was, like the celebration of VE and VJ days at the end of World War II, not a celebration of one man's death, but rather of one country's ability to stay the course and bring justice to one of this century's greatest criminals. And that is worth celebrating, even as we mourn the death of another soul lost without Christ.

The Royal Wedding

Like most American males, I grew extremely tired of the coverage of the royal wedding last week, until I realized something. On Thursday, April 28th, Kate Middleton was a commoner. However, on April 29 after 11:00 AM, she was the Duchess of Cambridge, forever after known Princess Kate. She did not do anything special to become a princess or a duchess, except catch the eye of Prince William. He decided to make her his bride and as a result of HIS decision she is now a princess.
Do you see it yet? We were once commoners, ordinary people. However, the Prince of Peace saw us and decided He wanted to make us His bride. Now, not as a result of anything we have done, but solely as a result of HIS decision we are no longer commoners, but now we are Royalty, the Bride of Christ.
I read that over 2 billion people watched William and Kate's wedding. How many will be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? I don't know the exact number, but John said it was a multitude from every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue. If only we could realize the importance of that wedding. Praise the Lord, I am no longer a commoner but now a joint heir with Jesus.

Praying when we should be speaking

There are many things in our life that the Lord has already taken care of for us. Yet, most of us spend hours, days, weeks, even months or years praying for these things. There are some things that the Lord expects us to deal with now that He has taken care of them. When Ezekiel visited the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37)the Lord did not tell him to pray and ask Him to put the bones back together. Rather, the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy directly to the bones and later to the wind. In the same fashion, in Mark 11:23, Jesus instructs us to speak directly to mountains. Yet, we spend our time praying and asking God to fix things that He has already fixed. It is time that we as believers realize our place as the children of God and declare the things that He has done for us. It is time that we quit asking for blessings and declare (speak) that we have the blessings of Abraham (Galatians 3:29).

When the brook dries up

I have recently experienced the truth that it's pretty easy to say the Lord is our source when we have a job. It's another thing to say it when the job is gone. When we have direct deposit set up with the job and we write checks to pay our bills, are we trusting the Lord or our job that the money will be in the checking account? I am not condeming anyone, because I definitely stopped my automatic drafts and havent written any checks since I lost my job. But it is definitely a question worth asking. I don't know that I have the answer to this one. But I do know that I am sick of playing church. I wonder what Smith Wigglesworth would have done...But even more than Wigglesworth, I look to Elijah as our Biblical example. In I Kings 17, Elijah was told by the Lord to go the brook and that ravens would bring him food. He was able to drink from the brook and eat the food the ravens brought him. After a certain amount of time, the brook dried up and the ravens quit showing up. If Elijah had been like most of us, he would have starved to death at the edge of the brook. Most of us would have started griping and complaining so loud that we would not have heard the Lord send us to the widow's house. The Lord has ravens and a brook or either a widow in store for each of us. It is our duty to trust Him and to realize that whether he is using the brook, the ravens, or the widow, He is the one meeting our needs. I pray that the Lord will increase our faith, that He will give us the kind of faith that writes the check even when there is no job.