Last Resort

Have you asked God to do something amazing? Have you told others you are relying on God? Have they laughed at you? Have they laughed at God? Have you laughed, thinking what you are asking for is impossible?

There are times in our lives when we find ourselves in a bind that only God can get us out of. We may have made a mistake. We may have made a misjudgment. Perhaps an accident has happened. Or we were simply the victim of corporate downsizing.

When we are in a dire situation, we reach out to God. We may have attempted to resolve it on our own. We may have asked others to help. Despite our efforts, nothing seems to work out and we are left with nowhere to turn but to God.

That is the situation in today’s passage. The daughter of the synagogue leader had been very sick, and she died before Jesus got to her. There were several others at the house mourning her death. Her parents are grieving. Jesus tells everyone but her parents to leave. They laugh at Him. From their human point of view, there was nothing to be done other than conduct a funeral. They did not understand the power of God.

I often wonder if we understand the power of God. We say He is all-powerful. We call Him Almighty God. We say He can do anything. Yet, I’m not sure we truly understand just how true those statements are. Jesus raised multiple people from the dead while He walked this earth. He cured multiple diseases and restored many who were crippled. We have seen the evidence. But the evidence hasn’t happened before our eyes. Our human experiences tell us it’s not possible. So, we don’t trust God to fix our problem…until we have no other place to turn.

I pray we all realize how powerful God is. I pray we trust Him in all situations. I pray each one of us will turn to God on a daily basis and increase our trust and faith in Him. Nothing is impossible for God. Trust Him to take care of it. Put your faith in Jesus. Build your trust in Him. Build your faith in Him. Do it before you experience dire circumstances.

Matthew 9:23-25 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.

Be Hospitable

Are you hospitable? Do you welcome in people you do not know? Are you willing to feed someone who is hungry? Will you host someone who needs a place to stay? Have you ever thought you may entertain an angel?

Allowing anyone off the street to come into our homes can be dangerous. Though perhaps not as dangerous as we have been led to believe by the news. However, being a hospitable person is not only about allowing someone to stay with us.

Being hospitable starts with an attitude of sharing. We must rid ourselves of the attitude that all we currently possess is ours. We must realize it all belongs to God and He has allowed us to be stewards of it for a short time. Of course, we are to be good stewards. We are not to simply throw it away or waste it.

There are opportunities to host those in need. We can host a missionary. If you happen to have a low-level minor-league baseball team in your town, you may have an opportunity to host a baseball player. There are opportunities to host family, friends, and co-workers. And, yes, there may be a time when a stranger comes to our door and asks for a cool cup of water.

We must be discerning when hosting, but we cannot be so fearful that we become stingy with what God has blessed us with. We do not think of angels coming to our door, but we may just have one approach us. We may just see one in a homeless shelter. We may see one in a broken-down vehicle along the road.

We are not called to be foolish, but we are called to share what God has blessed us with. So, let’s stop holding onto everything as though we will never be blessed again. Let’s trust God to provide and share what He has provided. Let’s be willing to give to those in need.

I pray we all rid ourselves of our selfishness. I pray we have an attitude of sharing. I pray each one of us will be discerning and willing to share what God has blessed us with. Be hospitable. Rid yourself of selfishness. Be willing to share. Trust God to provide. Be a good steward. Have an attitude of sharing.

Hebrews 13:1-2 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Admit Failings

Have you ever needed something and had no idea how you would acquire it? Have you needed to be somewhere and unsure how you would get there? Has it ultimately worked out? Did it come about because of your belief that God would provide?

We may face a situation where we are in dire need of help. A situation we cannot overcome on our own. It may be a situation for which we are at no fault. We become distraught and desperate, seeking help from wherever we can find it.

It is in situations like these that people often reach out to God looking for a miracle. Or they shout at God asking why He allowed it to happen. Either way, they look to God.

It is when we reach out to God asking for His intervention that He answers. It is when we fall to our knees that He is attentive to our plea. It is when we admit our own failings and submit to His awesome power that He reveals Himself to us.

In today’s passage, a father asks Jesus to help his son. The Apostles could not help. The Rabbi’s could not help. The Pharisees could not help. The teachers of the law could not help. There was nowhere else to turn. If Jesus could not help, the situation was hopeless.

The good news is Jesus brings hope. He gives the father hope. The father admits his lack of belief and asks Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief. In other words, the father had a trickle of belief, but not a wholehearted belief. He knows it. He admits it. And Jesus answers his request by ridding his son of the demon.

It is when we admit to both God and ourselves that we are not in control that He works in our lives. Why? Our pride and desire to be in control can keep God at bay, not allowing Him to work in our lives. He won’t force us to submit to Him. Yet, when we do, He works mightily in our lives.

I pray we all admit our failings before God. I pray we submit to God’s mighty power. I pray each one of us relinquish our thoughts of being in control, giving up our pride to submit to God. Admit your failings. Give up control. Give up your pride. Ask God to intervene. See Him work mightily in your life.

Mark 9:23-24 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Humble Yourself

Have you had a request turned down? Has there been something you desired very much that you were denied? Did you continue to ask for it? Or did you give up after requesting it once? How deeply did you desire it?

I dare say there has been something we have asked for that we thought we wanted badly. However, when we were told no, we gave up—even if it was not a direct no. We do not always want things as much as we might initially think we do.

In today’s passage, a non-Israelite woman is asking Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter. Jesus responds that He came for the “lost sheep of Israel” (v. 24). She continues to beg for his help. Again, he replies that you don’t toss the children’s food to the dogs. But she humbles herself and continues to ask.

Notice she doesn’t deny being the dog, the outsider. She accepts the answer Jesus gave, but she states that even those who are not children get the scraps. She appeals to Jesus’ mercy, is unrelenting, and even follows along with the metaphor He uses. Obviously, this woman was willing to do whatever it took to heal her daughter.

In the case of this woman, it was a desire to receive help for her daughter. But we can apply her persistence to other desires. In some cases, it boils down to whether we are willing to humble ourselves before God or not. Too often, our pride is more important to us than acquiring something we desire, perhaps even need.

God will not withhold anything we need. He may test us, wanting us to give up our pride and humble ourselves before Him. He wants us to recognize Him as God, as Creator, as the Almighty. Our pride keeps us from doing that.

I pray we all recognize God for who He is. I pray we humble ourselves before Him. I pray each one of us will continue to seek what we desire and release our pride before our Holy God. Ask God for your needs. Ask God for your desires. Humble yourself before God. Release your pride.

Matthew 15:27-28 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Power of the Gospel

Do you ever deny you are a Christian? Are there times when you may not lie, but neither do you make it obvious you follow Jesus? Have you considered you may be the only one who others may hear about Jesus from?

There will be times when we don’t want to stand out as a follower of Christ. It is especially difficult when we are early in our walk with Him. On the one hand, we want people to know about our faith. On the other, we fear being ostracized for it.

Being shunned by our friends can be scary. We falsely believe we will not find new friends. So, we fold when fear hits us. This is when we need the gospel, the good news. It is the good news of Jesus Christ that will lift us up, relieve us of the fear we harbor.

The gospel, as we believe it, reveals righteousness. As our faith is put in the gospel, we obtain the righteousness of God. We may not fully understand how it happens, and it may take time for our belief and faith to come to fruition, but it does come.

God works in us as long as we continue to believe He is God, we turn to Him, and we put our faith in Jesus Christ. If we know someone who is struggling in their faith, we must continue to pray for them. Our faith can continue to build them up and call God to work in their lives. We may pray for them for years. But as we refuse to give up on them, God also refuses to give up on them. As we continue to speak the truth of the gospel to them, the power of God is brought to bear on them. In the end, God wins.

I pray we are not ashamed of the gospel. I pray we believe in the power of the gospel. I pray each one of us continues to pray that God works in the lives of others. Believe the gospel. Know you obtain righteousness through faith. Hold on to your faith. Pray for the faith of others to be strengthened. Never give up. Know that God is at work.

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Accepting Truth

Are you willing to listen to the truth? Will you open your heart to hear the message of Jesus Christ? Will you willingly accept the possibility you have been wrong in the past? Will you give your heart to Jesus?

Being willing to listen to and understand the truth of the gospel is challenging for many people. They desire to continue in their old ways. There is no desire to hear truth. Believing in Jesus is not considered to be cool. Religion is boring.

The most unfortunate thing about that attitude is people are being led to destruction. Without being willing to admit they have been wrong about their life decisions; they will never accept the truth of Jesus. Without accepting the truth, they continue down the path of destruction.

Just as Lydia responded to the message of Jesus the Apostle Paul was preaching, we all need to respond to the message of Jesus within God’s Word. There is no other way to spend eternity with God. It may not be the popular message. The message of Jesus may not be hip in pop culture. But the truth is the truth and cannot be altered by our modern culture.

Jesus is calling each of us. He is patiently waiting for us to come to Him. He desires every one of us to be saved. He has given us all the information we need to accept Him as Lord and Savior. The responsibility to accept His message and Him is on us. Will you accept it?

I pray we all decide to hear the message of Jesus. I pray we decide to accept the truth. I pray each one of us will seek to hear the truth of God’s Word and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Hear God’s Word as truth. Understand the message of Jesus. Accept Jesus as Lord. Accept Jesus as Savior. Be willing to be uncool. Open your heart to Jesus.

Acts 16:14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

Increase Your Faith

Is your faith strong? Would you like to strengthen your faith? What have you done to strengthen your faith? Have you thought about having a stronger faith? Have you asked God to strengthen your faith?

Faith can be hard to put our finger on. We think we have a strong faith until it gets tested, then we may struggle or fall down. A strong faith can only be achieved by exercising it. However, in exercising it, we cannot test God.

To grow stronger physically we exercise. We lift weights. We do pushups. We do pullups. We do crunches. We do limbering exercises for flexibility. We walk or run to build up endurance. All of this to strengthen our physical bodies to prepare us for all those fun things we like to do.

We can strengthen our faith as well. One way to strengthen our faith is to grow in our knowledge of Jesus. That includes reading God’s Word, participating in Bible studies, going to worship services, praying, and having Godly discussions with other Christians.

But doing all these brain exercises is not enough. We must put our faith into action. That is where the challenge begins. This is where we often struggle. We don’t know how to put our faith in action. What action is a faith-based action?

Any action that furthers God’s work here on earth is a faith-based action. The more the action requires God to be involved for it to succeed, the more we exercise our faith. Perhaps it requires us to get out of our comfort zone, relying on God to help us. Maybe it is a mission project. It could mean going into ministry. The key is spending time in prayer to discern what God wants you to do, rather than following your own desires, which results in you testing God.

I pray we desire to strengthen our faith. I pray we spend time growing in our knowledge of God. I pray each one of us will exercise our faith by doing what God has called us to do.  Grow in knowledge of God. Exercise your faith. Strengthen your faith. Step out of your comfort zone.

Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Crown of Life

Are you going through a trial? Are you experiencing difficult times? How are you facing challenges? What or who is helping you get through the trials of life? Do you have someone who will walk through difficult times with you?

We face challenges at different times during our lives. They may come in the form of a severe illness. They may be financially related. They may occur in our relationships. We may be fired from a job.

Trials, challenges, or difficult times are part of life. They come. We battle our way through them. We experience a time of peace. Another challenge arises. It seems to be a cycle in our lives we experience over and over. There are times we grow weary of the battles. We are ready for the challenges to end.

As we go through difficult times, we wonder if they will ever end. We long for completion. We may even wonder how we will get through them. Though it is hard to remember while we are going through them, God will lead us through them. When necessary, He will carry us. By leaning on Him, we can go through anything. That’s not to say it will be easy.

Notice James tells us there is a crown of life waiting for us on the other side. Again, it may be hard to look forward to that when faced with a particularly difficult challenge. Yet, keeping our eye on the prize will help. It will prod us to hold on. It will encourage us to keep going. God has promised us a reward for holding on to Him and persevering through the trials of life.

I pray we all learn to lean on God before trials come. I pray we continue to lean on God through the trials. I pray each of us will trust God to get us through the trials of life. Persevere through the trials. Hold on to God during difficult times. Keep going while trusting God. Know that God will see you through it.

James 1:12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Bless One Another

Do you feel blessed? Do you like to hear blessings from others? Have you ever blessed others? Do you know that you can bless other people? Do you know that being a believer in Jesus Christ means you can call God’s blessing down on those you love?

I dare say we all like to be blessed. Especially when we think of blessings as gifts. After all, we generally like to receive gifts. Most of us also like to give gifts. Being on the receiving end or able to give blessings from God is wonderful.

We don’t often think about blessing someone. Sure, we think about giving gifts. But we typically think of those gifts as coming from us, not God. When we give someone a birthday gift, we think about how we have worked to earn the money to purchase the gift, even if it is only a minor thought in the back of our minds. But it is because of God’s blessing of us that we are able to bless someone else.

We can also bless others as they go to leave us, just as the believers in Antioch blessed Judas and Silas. Notice the believers blessed them with peace as they were setting off to return to Jerusalem. Today, we may say, “Safe travels.” But isn’t peace a better blessing? Not only that but wishing someone safe travels is not the same as saying, “May God bless you and carry you home safely.”

Blessing others is something we can do. We don’t need to be ordained to bless others. Being believers in Jesus is all we need to bless them. When someone else blesses us with God’s blessing, we notice a difference. When we bless others with God’s blessing, they will feel the difference as well. The more specific the blessing, the more significant the other person will feel the presence of God in the blessing.

I pray we all bless one another. I pray we call God’s blessings down on everyone we meet. I pray each one of us look for ways to bless one another, especially those we love and care for. Call down God’s blessings. Bless one another. Bless everyone you meet. Accept God’s blessings from others.

Acts 15:33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.

Wonderful Disruptions

Have you ever set out to do one thing only to end up doing something else? Have you thought you were going to get time to spend alone with God only to find someone else needed you? Have you gone to pray to be interrupted by something else?

If your life is anything like mine, you often find yourself being redirected to do something other than what you planned. That’s not to say they are bad things, just different. In fact, there are times when the thing you were redirected to is far more important.

But being redirected can be frustrating at times, can’t it? You set out for a quiet spot to meditate and discover there is a gaggle going on there. Paul found this while he was in Philippi. As it turned out, it was good that he went there. He was able to talk with some women and convince at least one and her entire household to become followers of Jesus.

We may have experienced something similar. We may have intended to have a quiet afternoon of meditation only to be interrupted by someone who was seeking the truth. We take the opportunity to tell them about Jesus and they decide to believe. What an awesome disruption for us!

We don’t care for disruptions much, but disruptions can be extremely positive. The automobile was disruptive. The telephone was disruptive. Computers were disruptive. Any new invention is disruptive, and typically for the good. Paul experienced a disruption. We may experience a disruption. But that disruption may be just the opportunity we need to talk about Jesus and have a positive impact on someone else.

I pray we all accept disruptions with a positive attitude. I pray we turn disruptions into positive impact situations. I pray each one of us uses a disruption to see what God wants us to do to fulfill His plan. Seek God’s plan. Look for His plan in disruptions. View a disruption in a positive manner. Maintain a positive attitude. Take advantage of disruptions.

Acts 16:13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.