I Think I Just Stumped God...oh, wait.

Scripture: But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. Matthew 22:29

Observation: The Sadducees hope to show how silly the idea of the resurrection is by asking Jesus an absurd question about a woman whose 7 husbands died. Jesus tells them they have two problems. 1) They don’t know what the bible says about a resurrection, and 2) they don’t know how powerful God is. God is so powerful and heaven so unimaginable, that our questions and arguments seem silly. We think we are so smart that we can trap God into admitting a mistake. These guys thought they could stump Jesus, and all they did was reveal how finite their minds are.

Application: God is powerful enough to work out any situation. When I cannot see how, when his ways seem illogical, when it seems I have trapped Him with a great question, all it does is reveal how little I know of God’s word and His power. There are a few knotty questions I have about the future—How will God do it? The answer is found in God’s word and his power.

Prayer: May I know your word and believe it. May I know your power and pray for it. God I am trusting you in huge ways to show me your power. Help me believe and lead others to believe in your power to create and solve and move mountains.

I Amaze Jesus!

Scripture: And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. Mark 6:5-6

Observation: Jesus could do no miracles because of the rejection and unbelief he found there. Obviously Jesus can do anything, but it seems he will not do miracles where there are hard-hearts and rejection.

Application: Yesterday I got great news about a friend of mine I have been praying for to come out of a horrible medical situation. I was so excited that the first words out of my mouth were, “I don’t believe it.” I felt God say, “And that’s your problem.” I wonder—are there miracles Jesus hasn’t done in my life because I do not believe? Could it be that Jesus marvels at my unbelief even more, because I am already a believer and should know better. Maybe I amaze Jesus too with my unbelief.

Prayer: God, I do believe. Help my unbelief. I don’t want to amaze you in the wrong way. I want to believe in your power to heal and change hearts. Let me have faith to expect today.

This is My Story, This is My Song.

Scripture: Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Revelation 4:11

Observation: This declaration seems to be the constant refrain of the 24 elders in Heaven. Over and over they say this. Why this statement? Of all of the never ending volumes of truth that could be spoken to and about God, why these 28 words? Could it be because, in their simplicity, they capture the essential truth of God’s worthiness to be praised: There is none above Him. He created all things—no one created him. All things exist and continue to exist only by the sheer will of God. On his best day, Satan cannot create a drop of rain—he can only attempt to twist and distort what God has created. There is no power struggle for control of the universe. The power described in these words is unspeakable. Where else would we turn for appeal? Who else has the power to be our God?

Application: This is my story, this is my song: God is worthy to receive all my strength in worshipping him. My energy and life has found their fulfillment and purpose when I ascribe glory and honor and power to God. And I take solace in this: As he has overcome, so will I if I am with him. I will experience this moment, the recognition that all I have placed my hope in is true. I cannot wait for this moment to celebrate the authority and worth of God.

Prayer: God, let me celebrate a foretaste of this celebration as I honor you in my worship this morning. Let me have confidence this week to share your love with others, knowing that the One who empowers me is awesome in power forever.

We Have Overcome

Scripture: Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. I John 4:4

Observation: We have overcome. The bible also tells us we will overcome, we are commanded to overcome, and we will be rewarded if we overcome.

Application: There are 2 boys in our neighborhood that are the terrors of our street. No one knows where the parents are—rumors fly about jail, drugs, who knows what. These kids are on a course of destruction and defeat.
My first thought was protecting my kids from them. Overcoming meant that I could pray and these kids would be defeated. But these two boys are not the ones in the world we are to overcome. The real enemy is Satan, who has a hold of their lives and desires to steal, kill, and destroy them. Maybe overcoming does not mean defeating them, but proclaiming that God desires to prevail in their situation, to redirect the trajectory of their life? Can we love on and reach out to and share with these boys in the name of Jesus? Can we pray and seek God to overcome the one in them who has been defeated by God. Can we be overcomers in these boys’ lives?

Prayer: God, help me believe I am an overcomer. That the one in me is greater than the one in the world and I can stand strong and proclaim victory over the evil of the world. That I would overcome evil with good. These boys desperately need someone to overcome in their lives—that person is you who is greater than the one who is in the world. Show me how I can love them and overcome with them.

Who is His Equal? July 24

Scripture: "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. Isaiah 40:25
"I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another.” Isaiah 42:8

Observation: I remember hearing a statement by John Piper a few years ago, “God is an important person who does not like being taken for granted.” I think it is getting easier and easier in this world we live to take God for granted. To begin to doubt His importance to our world. Our own advances in technology and power can delude us into thinking we do not need him. But Isaiah records what God thinks about this attitude. That He, apart from anyone else in history, is truly without equal. He alone is allowed to be called The Lord. And God will not share his glory as the One and Only with anyone else.

Application: How do I treat God as less important? How do I give his glory to others? One way is when I fail to attribute to God what is his. We just returned from a long trip, driving 5 hours each way in an old Suburban. We made it there and back again. Was this just good maintenance? Or was it God? Before our drive, as we do on every vacation, we stop and pray, asking God to guard our vehicle and protect us as we travel. Then when we pull back in our driveway, we stop and thank God for the trip. Why do I do this? Because I believe that God is the true protector of our family and I want my kids to see and learn this as well.

Prayer: God, forgive me for failing to set You apart as the One and Only, one whose power is unapproachable. The power we achieve on earth is nothing compared to the One who alone gets to be called The Lord. Today, may you remind me of your supreme superiority in all areas of life—power, holiness, authority.