Talk about Perfect Timing!
This morning was fruitful, Father, but this afternoon was a hodgepodge of things. May our time together this evening be productive in shining forth Your light. Amen.
Romans 5:6-11 (<<click here to read the passage)
I have a sweet young lady on my high school route who tends to forget things on my bus – usually, it’s her water bottle (I recognize it by now and give it to her when she gets on in the afternoon.) She has also accidentally left her phone in her seat. One of the last times, knowing it was hers, I swung by the high school after my elementary route and was just going to leave it at the front desk. I used my ID to enter the main entrance and who should walk by the inner set of doors, but the phone’s owner! She was heading to her next class!
Talk about perfect timing, I don’t think we could have set it up any better!
Now that incident was happenstance, but when God is involved in the equation – chance, luck, or coincidence does not factor in the least.
I find it amazing the number of prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus – the Christ, the Messiah. It is almost incomprehensible, all the things that coincided to bring about the desired result at just the right time. We must not forget that before the world was even created that God had already set into motion everything that would need to take place to bring about our salvation – before the first sin had even been committed.
By our invitation sin entered the world, and after that, there was nothing more we could do about it. It was our choice to embrace it, but we were utterly helpless (v6 NLT) to stop it. We were enslaved. We were bound with no way to extricate ourselves. But… while we were still helpless [powerless to provide for our salvation], at the right time Christ died [as a substitute] for the ungodly. v6 AMP (emphasis mine)
Not by chance. Luck paid no part. Coincidence? That’s laughable!
Remember our God is Sovereign! He is in charge, so His timing is perfect!
The Apostle Paul declared in Colossians 1:16-17,
For by (or in) Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]
We were helpless as newborn babes. We were totally incapable of freeing ourselves from sin’s ruthless grasp, but our Sovereign God was already at work!
Verses 8-11 speak for themselves. Nothing more needs said!
…God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. NLT
Nov 16th, 2022, Wed, 6:43 pm
Pouring the Vastness of an Ocean into a Teacup
The darkness of these days is getting to me Father. With it getting dark so early, due to the time change, and the overcast day it has been, I ask that You would light up my heart and mind with Your presence. Amen.
Romans 5:1-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
Alight, I sat down to read and write, and I copied and pasted the passage to read through a couple of versions. I read through the New Living Translation (NLT), the Amplified Bible (AMP), and the New International Version (NIV). As is often the case, words and phrases were jumping out at me, grabbing my attention. Only after reading some of them through a couple of times, did I realize that I hadn’t shifted to the next portion of verses after yesterday’s portion – I had read through yesterday’s portion all over again!
I tell you; God’s Word is living and though it was written so long ago, it is so full of life! Its age makes no difference, it continues to speak, to impact, to change lives! Who am I to argue if God’s Word, has something else to say!?
…our confident hope of salvation…will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. v4b-5
One of many songs I remember from my childhood is the song, Running Over. (It has hand motions, too!)
Running over, running over
My cup is full and running over
Since the Lord saved me
I’m as happy as can be
My cup is full and running over
The last part of the 5th verse tells us that the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with His love. In the New Living Translation, the final line of the 5th verse of the 23rd Psalm reads, “My cup overflows with blessings.” NLT The Common English Bible translates it as “…my cup is so full it spills over!” CEB
In real life overfilling a cup is disastrous! It often leads to a mess to clean up. No one purposely fills a cup to overflowing! But the Holy Spirit is not just anyone!
God’s love is immeasurable! It is infinite! God giving us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with love makes me think of attempting to pour the vastness of an ocean into a teacup!
So often we feel overrun and defeated. And though we know better, at least from a spiritual perspective, we lose hope.
Verses 3-4 tell us that we can rejoice because problems and trials…help us develop endurance, which develops strength of character, which strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
A note in the Amplified Bible states, “…the New Testament…word “hope” expresses a cherished desire along with the confident assurance of obtaining that which is longed for.”
The Biblical concept of hope is not wishing thinking, it is assurance – it is confidence in that hope!
Lord Jesus, we implore You to enable us to see the struggles of life as a means to lead us, not to disappointment, but to an unshakeable assurance of Your love for us. May we all experience the Holy Spirit’s filling of our hearts with Your love! Amen!
Nov 15th, 2022, Tues, 7:10 pm
Rejoice in Trials
I am distracted by many things today, Father, enable me to place my focus squarely on You. Amen.
Romans 5:1-5 (<<click here to read the passage)
What did you want to be when you grew up? (Maybe you’re still waiting for that to happen!) A few months ago, parents posted pictures of their kids on the first day of school and it often included what they wanted to be when they grew up – doctors, firemen, veterinarians, teachers, etc. One of my cousins’ granddaughters wants to run a doggy daycare. 😊
Those are all wonderful goals, and some may come to fruition while many others may change numerous times before they settle into a career. Even then, many may change careers a few times. None of us know what the future may hold.
What nobody talks about too much is that no matter what paths we choose, we will find countless trials and struggles along the way. My Life Application Bible shared this thought, Paul tells us that in the future we will become, but until then we must overcome.
One thing that young people find difficult to process is that where they find themselves is in actuality a “bite-size” piece of life. Early on being in school is an adventure but talk to high school students and you get the impression that they are so done with it all and just want the next phase to come along. Yes, there are struggles and heartaches, but by the time they start really feeling those things they’re almost through most of it. Instead of focusing on the good, they focus on the “oppression” of it all.
Cherish where you are. Savor every moment, for soon it will be gone…and life will never be the same.
A lot of life is striving to overcome the difficulties we find there. But at the actual end of life, we will become what Christ knew we could be.
The problems that we run into will develop our perseverance which in turn will strengthen our character, deepen our trust in God, and give us greater confidence about the future. You probably find your patience tested in some way every day. Thank God for those opportunities to grow, and deal with them in his strength.
Thank God for those “opportunities”? We rejoice in suffering, not because we like pain or deny its tragedy, but because we know God is using life’s difficulties and Satan’s attacks to build our character
The Apostle Peter puts it well,
In this you rejoice greatly, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, which is much more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested and purified by fire, may be found to result in [your] praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7 AMP
It is tough going, but you are not alone. You have many companions along the way. And never forget that the Holy Spirit will never leave or forsake you. Every day you are one step closer to becoming what Christ knows, even now, what we can be!
Nov 14th, 2022, Mon, 1:02 pm
Deep Down Dark
(Image from the 2015 movie, The 33, based on this true story.)
Father, I pray that those who joined in our services will take to heart the words they heard. Move through us all, I pray.
Romans 4:18-25 (<<click here to read the passage)
October 13, 2010 – Does that day hold any significance for you? Do you remember anything occurring on that day that stands out as “earth-shaking”?
As I read through today’s passage from the end of Romans 4, its core message – hope – resonated through me and I truly believe the Lord brought an incident to mind…from October 13, 2010.
The story is taken from an NPR article entitled The Incredible Story of Chilean Miners Rescued From The ‘Deep Down Dark’. (<<click to read the article)
The disaster began…around lunchtime at a mine in Chile’s Atacama Desert: Miners working deep inside a mountain, excavating for copper, gold and other minerals, started feeling vibrations. Suddenly, there was a massive explosion and the passageways of the mine filled up with a gritty dust cloud.
A 770,000-ton “megablock” of stone had come crashing down through the layers of the mine bringing tons of rock with it. Thirty-three miners were trapped.
It seemed hopeless. These men were entombed under half a mile of rock, but neither they nor their families gave up hope. In fact, the families gathered in a makeshift tent city called Campo Esperanza — “Camp Hope”.
Their families endured this ordeal for 52 days, not truly knowing if their loved ones lived. But on that day, a drill finally broke through to “The Refuge,” the room where the men were gathered. When the drill returned to the surface tied to its bit was a note that read: “WE ARE WELL IN THE REFUGE [SIGNED] THE 33.”
Seventeen days later – October 13, 2010 – all 33 of those miners – after being trapped for 69 days – were raised to the surface through an escape tunnel into which a capsule was slowly lowered and raised by a giant crane. It was a feat of engineering and a triumph of faith.
Amazing is not a big enough word!
That story is amazing but not as amazing as the story spoken of in today’s text!
Almost 4,000 years ago, a man named Abraham, clung to hope. He had been promised by God…
…that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.
Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. vs18-22 NLT
My Life Application Bible states, Abraham never doubted that God would fulfill his promise. Abraham’s life was marked by mistakes, sins, and failures (Can you relate?!) as well as by wisdom and goodness, but he consistently trusted God. His faith was strengthened by the obstacles he faced, and his life was an example of faith in action. If he had looked only at his own resources for subduing and founding a nation, he would have given up in despair. But Abraham looked to God, obeyed him, and waited for God to fulfill his word.
Do not give up! God’s promises hold true! If you’ve placed your hope in God, He will not fail you! We will experience our triumph of faith in Him from the deep down dark!
Nov 13th, 2022, Sun, 3:43 pm
The He-Man Woman-Haters Club: Biblical Version
In the trials and victories of everyday life,
The Lord is my strength and my song;
….he has given me victory.
Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. Psalm 118:14-15 NLT
Romans 4:9-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Though they were way before my time, growing up I enjoyed watching Our Gang, a popular and successful American film series of comedy shorts centered around a group of child actors known collectively as “The Little Rascals”. Between 1922 and 1944, there were over two hundred and twenty shorts. Their popularity zoomed in the 50s and then later in the 80s a movie was released around the same characters and general plot.
One thing that aired in the original series and was a carryover in the remake was the He-Man Woman-Haters Club, and as the name implies it was a boys-only club, here’s the club vow that they had to recite
“I, [state name here, but everyone just repeated Stymie’s name (he was the club’s sergeant-at-arms)], a member of good standing of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club, do solemnly swear to be a he-man and hate women and not play with them or touch them unless I have to and especially never fall in love and, if I do, may I die slowly and painfully and suffer for hours or until I scream bloody murder.”
It brings a smile to my face but what brought this old memory to mind was reading through today’s passage of Scripture. You probably think I’ve lost it but hang in there with me.
One of the struggles in the early Church, as we discovered in our time in the book of Acts, was what was expected of Gentile (non-Jewish) converts to Christianity. One big point of contention was circumcision. The act was definitely associated with Judaism. The leadership of the early Church decided that circumcision was not to be a requirement for those who chose to follow Christ.
The Apostle Paul pulled from the Old Testament when he spoke of Abraham and his life. Paul wrote,
…Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised! Vs9b-10 NLT
As the He-Man Woman-Haters Club had its rules as to who was and wasn’t allowed in, devout Jews during the time of the early Church struggled with rules, too. And truth be told, today’s church struggles as well.
Some may beg to differ, but many have mindsets that keep others at bay until they clean up, at least to a certain degree, before they are allowed in the fold.
But Paul’s declaration in verse 16 speaks just as clearly today as it did 2,000 years ago.
Therefore, [inheriting] the promise depends entirely on faith [that is, confident trust in the unseen God], in order that it may be given as an act of grace [His unmerited favor and mercy], so that the promise will be [legally] guaranteed to all the descendants [of Abraham]—not only for those [Jewish believers] who keep the Law, but also for those [Gentile believers] who share the faith of Abraham, who is the [spiritual] father of us all… AMP
There are no rules here, just faith. May we all see the world through the eyes – and open arms – our Savior!
Nov 10th, 2022, Thurs, 12:57 pm