Impossible Possible
Thank You for the opportunities You give me, Father. May I pay attention to what is of You that is before me and not distracted by the petty things of this world. Open my eyes that I may see. Amen.
Luke 4:38-41 (<<click to read the passage)
How many times do we feel that God…
…can’t handle our issues because they’re too big for Him? Or…
…won’t handle our issues because they’re not big enough for Him? Or…
…doesn’t have time to handle our issues because He’s too busy? Or…
…you fill in the blank with your reason.
I love the what is said is at the end of verse 40,
No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. NLT
No matter what…healed every one!
I have written before about God’s ability to handle each and every circumstance that we bring before him. I wrote A Cheeseburger Answer to Prayer back in April and MIGHTY! Not Just Meek and Mild in October, as well as, Nothing Is Impossible back in May 2018.
Scripture – His word – gives me ample opportunity to praise my God for what He can do.
“For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37 (AMP)
“With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 (AMP)
I have a tie that in fact, I wore just this past Sunday with that verse on it!
We used to sing a song written by Eugene Clark way back in 1966 that is entitled, Nothing Is Impossible. (<<click on the title if you’d like to listen to it!) Here are the lyrics,
Nothing is impossible when you put your trust in God
Nothing is impossible when you’re trusting in His Word
Hearken to the voice of God to thee:
“Is there anything too hard for Me?”
Then put your trust in God alone and rest upon His Word
For ev’rything, o ev’rything
Yes, ev’rything is possible with God!
Why am I belaboring this? Way too many of us live defeated lives. And we are defeated for a multitude of reasons. We feel stuck in all kinds of situations. Some things we could change and others we cannot but God can work in and through absolutely any matter in which we find ourselves – No matter what!
But we must surrender ourselves to Him – many, many things are impossible for us – remember “With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible…” He will work on our behalf but He honors His gift of free will. He will not impose Himself but waits until we yield ourselves to Him.
Do. Not. Wait! Giving ourselves over to Him results in blessing upon blessing! We can then withstand any storm for then we stand upon an immovable Rock! May it be so! Amen!
Dec 19th, 2019, Thurs, 7:55 pm
The Reality of Evil
Well, Father, I have so little pain and discomfort in my right hand that I have canceled the surgery I was to have tomorrow on my thumb. It would not heal itself so, Father, the credit most assuredly goes to You! Praise Your Holy Name!
Luke 4:31-37 (<<click to read the passage)
Our “modern” world seems to scoff at the main focus of this passage – “a man possessed by a demon – an evil (unclean) spirit”. Hollywood will run with it on occasion but the common person on the street probably doesn’t put much stock into its reality.
Let me relay a story from my time at Kohl’s. Several years ago, we had a family pass through in the vicinity of my department and with them was a small child. She was around two years of age and her interaction with her father (I presume) was shocking. They had a crossing of the wills and she was none too happy with the outcome and made it very clear how she felt. But it was not just your run-of-the-mill yelling, screaming, crying child in the midst of a tantrum. I have never seen such hatred and loathing come from anyone! Even at the time, my thought was that there was no way that a child that young could project so much evil verbally and physically! I was literally shocked! My reaction to the whole ordeal was that she must be the victim of demon possession.
Even now, I imagine many of you reading this are very likely rolling your eyes, exclaiming, “Really? That’s a little extreme don’t you think?” As I said, this incident took place several years ago and I can still picture her face in my mind.
We may jeer and sneer but the presence of evil in our world is most certainly real. And that evil can most assuredly be the result of demonic influence in people’s lives.
This passage is just one record of demons being cast out by Jesus and His followers. And just because we scoff or just because it makes us uncomfortable does not mean we can disregard its authenticity.
If there is one thing we can take away from this reading is that though our spiritual adversaries may be formidable, Jesus always has the upper hand. He is the one with unsurpassable authority and power.
Lord Jesus, I pray that we might never come in contact with such a level of evil personified but if we do may we never forget that You are sovereign and before You every knee shall bow both in the physical and the spiritual realm. Amen!
Dec 18th, 2019, Wed, 7:12 pm
With Authority
Father, today was a gift. Due to icy roads, we ended up with no school. Karen and I both had productive days getting things done and then had a nice evening with family. Thank You for the blessings that so freely come from Your almighty hand!
Luke 4:31-37 (<<click to read the passage)
The first thing that grabbed my attention as I read through this passage of Luke’s Gospel was verse 32 when Jesus had moved on from Nazareth to teach in the synagogue at Capernaum.
“…the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.” NLT
“…they were surprised [almost overwhelmed] at His teaching, because His message was [given] with authority and power and great ability.” AMP
Words that jump out at me are amazed, surprised, and overwhelmed, then the words authority, power, and ability.
And as I sit here, I wonder, “Does what I do on Sunday mornings and at Monday night Bible studies even come close to any of the words? Does my daily interaction with friends and loved ones reflect these words?” Now I am not whining or wallowing in self-pity. I am honestly just looking at myself…and wondering, “Am I in any way like Jesus in those situations?”
I realize that I am not the author of the words I proclaim. I have not had the ability to watch every instance of human interaction from the beginning of time so as to understand every single nuance of interaction and communication that has transpired between these frail vessels of clay.
No, I am most certainly not God but…I am His child. I most definitely believe that because He is my Savior, my Guide, and my Comforter that His Spirit resides within me. In my imperfection, I strive for His perfection. I fall and fail and stumble but He is gracious and kind and merciful and compassionate. He forgives and lifts me up when I take a faceplant on the dusty paths of life.
And I know He uses me, in spite of my weakness. He takes the pittance that I have to offer and multiplies it beyond my comprehension to impact those to whom He is reaching out. I am truly but a vessel that He uses at every opportune time to touch lives that He has been touching all along. Whispering into ears deafened by the raging screams of life. Caressing the cheeks of those who have been beaten by hatred and perversion and disappointment. Opening the eyes of those who have been blinded by the acidic effects of self-righteousness and self-loathing. He. uses. me. to accomplish His will in a world resistant to His very existence.
So, in and of myself, I am useless. But in Christ, I am far more than useless. Through me, He still amazes people with His teaching. He amazes them, almost to the point of overwhelming them. Though I am weak, He is strong and speaks through me with authority and power and great ability! For He is God! And absolutely nothing shall inhibit Him in growing His Kingdom! Amen and amen!
Dec 17th, 2019, Tues, 9:00 pm
Stir the Pot
Father, as I come before You this evening, I think of a favorite hymn that has come to mind so many times over the years.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
Luke 4:20-30 (<<click to read the passage)
Have you ever heard the idiom “to stir the pot”? I read a little Q&A thing online that asked what it meant and part of the original question was, “…does it mean to be in some way deliberately provocative or irritating?” I really liked the answer that was given.
Deliberately provocative, yes, but not necessarily maliciously. Picture a pot of soup. A lot of ingredients have settled to the bottom, out of sight, until stirred. Metaphorically, a lot of issues/resentments/obligations can drop out of sight when nobody mentions them. One can “stir the pot” to bring issues to the surface, sometimes with malice, but sometimes merely to create awareness and effect change.
I think that Jesus, here in these verses, is “stirring the pot”. After he read the passage from Isaiah from the scroll, can’t you see all the men gathered there shaking their heads and smiling benignly at the young man who grew up amongst them? I can’t imagine Jesus not being well-liked. I’m sure He was respected as any other hard-working craftsman in the community would have been
Now they may not have totally understood what He meant when He told them, “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
But they weren’t berating or criticizing Him. Overall, they were just amazed that the gracious words came from the lips of a simple carpenter.
Then Jesus stirred the pot!
All of the sudden things that may have been thought but not spoken were brought to light! Jesus very clearly shared two Old Testament examples where miracles had been performed on Gentiles – those outside the Jewish faith – because the faith of the Jews was so lacking!
And in all those years since Elijah and Elisha had lived and prophesized, things – actually people – hadn’t changed one bit. And truly, are things any different today? If a local guy or gal began truly living the lives that Jesus calls us to, how would their local churches respond? What if those individuals had been a tad rebellious earlier in life? What if they had sown their share of wild oats, as it were? What would their church’s responses be? Would they be able to see past their past? Or would they, at the very least, hold back and at the worst, reject and ridicule who they had become?
Lord Jesus, may our hearts be open to what You want to do in our – and with – our lives. May we diligently seek to live out Your calling in our lives, regardless of how others may interpret our actions. Fill us with You – Your love, Your wisdom, Your strength, and Your compassion. Amen.
Dec 16th, 2019, Mon, 8:16 pm
Phenomenal Odds!
I thank You, Father, for the opportunity to speak in public settings beyond worship. Weddings, funerals, every occasion gives You the opportunity to use me to touch lives that may never darken the door of a church. May I be faithful and obedient in my charge. Amen.
Luke 4:16-22 (<<click to read the passage)
Recently I read a BBC article on the phenomenal odds against winning the lottery. There was a fair amount of information put out there but here is the paragraph I wanted to share.
“If you were told that you have a one in fourteen million chance of getting cancer in the next seven days people will say ‘oh well it is obviously not going to happen to me it is so infinitesimal’ but the fact that there is a one in fourteen million chance of winning the lottery people think ‘yes, it’s got to be someone why can’t it be me'”
No matter how great the odds, people believe it can happen to them!
Reading through today’s passage from Luke’s Gospel made me think of phenomenal odds. Advent and Lent always have that effect on me because each of them deals with incidences where Jesus fulfilled so many prophecies as He fleshed out (literally!) the role of the Messiah.
I read another article that stated that the Old Testament – its writing being completed 400+ years before Jesus’ birth – contains over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled through His life, death, and resurrection.
Mathematically speaking, the odds of anyone fulfilling this amount of prophecy are staggering. Mathematicians put it this way:
1 person fulfilling 8 prophecies: 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (that is 100 quadrillion!)
1 person fulfilling 48 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power (10157)
1 person fulfilling 300+ prophecies: Only Jesus!
It is just about impossible to even wrap your head around those kinds of numbers!
But in today’s passage as Jesus stood up to read the Scriptures in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth, He providentially (not a coincidence but God’s hand at work!) was handed a scroll from the writings of the prophet Isaiah. He then proceeded to read what we would now recognize as Isaiah 61:1-2.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
And without further ado, He proclaimed to them,
“The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
And that is just one of over 300 prophecies that He would fulfill – amazing! Really it is just AWESOME! (and any of my faithful readers know, I do not use that word for anything but God Himself!!!)
Lord Jesus, this world is just crazy – the hatred, the strife, the violence it is overwhelming but You have overcome the world!
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (AMP)
Dec 15th, 2019, Sun, 7:09 pm