Take a Risk on God

Have you heard a story you couldn’t believe? How did you react to that unbelievable story? Did you dismiss it out of hand? Did you laugh at the ridiculousness of it? Did you attempt to verify it, thinking there was a possibility it could be true? Or did you simply believe it?

Sometimes we hear outrageous stories. They sound so ridiculous that we think they are either incredible or there is no way it can be true. Whether we believe them or not may depend on the source of the story. If it comes from a credible source, we may believe it.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of a family member of Mary’s when she tells them she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Would you believe her? It had never happened before. In all likelihood, none of them had had an encounter with the Holy Spirit. Add to it that Mary says an angel named Gabriel told her it would happen. Now, you know who Gabriel is. He appeared in various instances of the Old Testament, including Daniel who prophesied about the coming Messiah.

Now, put yourself in Mary’s shoes. She was betrothed to Joseph but not yet married. Two-thousand years ago, being pregnant and not married was risky business. She could have been accused of adultery and stoned. At a minimum, she would have been ostracized, ridiculed, and excluded from participating in any social gatherings. She might not have been allowed to go to the market. Mary accepted the risk in order to obey God’s will and follow his plan.

Mary is an example we can follow. God may put us in what we may determine is a risky situation. We may ask ourselves if we are willing to take the risk. Mary’s experience lets us know that God is always with us. If it is his plan, we will be more than fine. We can trust that he has our best interest at heart and will take care of us as long as we are following his plan.

I pray we follow Mary’s example of following God’s plan. I pray we have the courage to take the risk on God. I pray each one of us will decide to obey God and trust he will take care of us. Follow Mary’s example. Follow God’s plan. Take a risk on God. Obey God. Trust God.

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit.

Gospel Greeting

How do you greet people? Does it depend on the situation? Do you greet people at a business meeting differently than you greet family or friends? Is your greeting done out of habit? Have you put any thought into your greeting? Have you noticed the greetings of the Apostle Paul?

Greeting others can be formal, cordial, friendly, or very familiar. We greet others in different ways based on the situation. Meeting someone for the first time in a business environment may be formal while greeting a family may be very familiar, including a hug.

The Apostle Paul always provides a lengthy greeting in his letters to various churches. In his letter to the church in Rome, his greeting is a lengthy paragraph that covers seven verses. His greetings typically included a statement about Jesus, how much he cares about those he is writing to, and a blessing. He includes all of these and a statement of him being an apostle.

Notice in his greeting that he points out Jesus being a descendant of King David, that He is the Son of God, has power from the Holy Spirit, and was resurrected. Paul wraps up the entire gospel in his greeting to the church. He summarizes it in a paragraph. We might say that Paul gives his “elevator speech” in his greeting. He uses the first paragraph to provide the church with a blessing while stating the most important things, things he will expand upon later in the letter.

Some of us think we don’t know enough to tell others about Jesus. Yet, we all know the basics that Paul includes in his greeting. We may not say it quite the same way Paul does, but we can give others the same facts. If we are worried we might forget something, we can spend time to memorize one of Paul’s greetings, his greeting to the church in Rome being a good one to memorize. Ultimately, we need to tell others about Jesus.

I pray we all take notice of Paul’s greetings. I pray we take time to note the key points of his greeting. I pray each one of us choose to tell others the key points about Jesus. Read Paul’s greetings. Note the key points. Tell others about Jesus. Tell them the key points of the gospel.

Romans 1:3-4 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Father and Son

Have you ever asked the Father to be bless his Son? Have you considered the Father giving the Son the strength He needed to be the Savior of the World? Does the relationship of the Father and the Son draw you near, seeking to be revived by God and praising his name?

We may refer to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, yet not really consider the relationship. We may think of them as One God and fail to remember they are separate persons. We may not fully understand the trinity. Yet, we can understand a father/son relationship.

The Psalmist asks God, the Father, to strengthen his Son. He references “son of man”, which is one of the terms used for the Son of God. It is the same term used in Daniel 7 in his vision of God coming to judge the world and claim his own. The Psalmist states the Son is at the right hand of the Father and He is made strong by the Father for his purposes. He asks the Father to put his hand on the Son, which is a form of blessing, approval, and encouragement.

Why does the Psalmist ask these things? So that we will believe in God and not turn away from him. It is also to revive us, renew us, build us up in the same strength so we will call on his name. The Psalmist is asking for the Father to demonstrate his strength through his Son for our sake. Our response should be to understand the father/son relationship and to trust God.

I pray we all ask the Father to bless the Son. I pray we know the Son is at the right hand of the Father. I pray each one of us is strengthened by knowing the Father and the Son are One. Ask the Father to bless. Know the Son is at the Father’s right hand. Be strengthened by God.

Psalm 80:17-18

Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, 

on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself. 

So we will not turn away from you. 

Revive us, and we will call on your name.

A Son will be Born

When King Ahaz would not ask God for a sign, even when God told him to, God gave him one anyway. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God told Ahaz the sign would be a young woman would bear a son and name him Immanuel. What did the prophecy mean?

We have been conditioned by years of teaching and preaching that this passage points to the coming of the Messiah. Though that is true, it is not the only meaning of Isaiah’s prophecy. As is often the case with Isaiah, his prophecies point to two different time periods, and sometime three.

In this specific prophecy, Isaiah is pointing to two future dates. King Ahaz was worried about the alliance of Ephraim and Aram coming against Jerusalem. He was seeking help from the King of Assyria. Rather than trusting God to deliver them, Ahaz had turned to an enemy of his enemy for aid. Unfortunately, Ahaz was setting Judah up to be conquered by who he was seeking aid from.

Isaiah’s prophecy speaks to both the immediate situation and further into the future. He prophecies of a child being born in the near future and Judah would be saved by God. He also uses broad enough language that points to the Messiah coming hundreds of years into the future. The double fulfillment of the prophecy has the same meaning. For the non-believing Ahaz, the name Immanuel, would be a reminder and threat that God was always there. For those of us who live after the coming of Jesus Christ, it is also a reminder that God is with us and a threat to those who don’t believe in Him.

As we read prophecies of the Old Testament, especially those pointing to the coming of the Messiah, we should also ask ourselves what it might have meant to those who heard it. Was it pointing to something more immediate as well as the future? Does it point beyond the coming of the Messiah to His return? It is by studying God’s prophecies in more detail that we increase our faith in Christ’s return.

I pray we all study God’s prophecies in greater detail. I pray we see the double or triple meaning of the prophecies. I pray each one of us increases our faith as we read God’s prophecies. Study God’s prophecies. See the multiple meanings. Increase your faith.

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.”

See God’s Signs

Do you often refuse to ask for help? Do you seek to do it on your own? Do you sometimes wish there would be a sign that would lift your spirits? Have you thought you should ask God for a sign but refused to do so? Did you refuse because you thought you were testing God?

Asking for help is very difficult for some of us. Asking God to give us a sign, show us the way, show us he is in control can be even more challenging. We can feel as though we are testing God, and we know we are not to test him. So, we don’t ask.

We are not alone. God told King Ahaz to ask for a sign. Not just any sign but a big sign. Ahaz refused because he did not want to put God to the test. It has been a longstanding understanding that we are not to test God. Thousands of years of belief and tradition have been passed down, demanding that we not test God.

So, what did God tell Ahaz to ask for a sign? Could it be that we humans misinterpret the meaning of testing God? I propose asking God for a sign is not testing him, especially when he says to do so. In the case of Ahaz, God used the prophet Isaiah to tell him what the sign would be. It is a sign that we continue to refer to even today, which we will discuss tomorrow.

I pray we all know we are not to test God. I pray we know we can ask God to provide us a sign in faith. I pray each one of us open our eyes to see the signs God has provided and continues to provide. Do not test God. Ask God to lead you. Open your eyes to see God’s signs.

Isaiah 7:10-12 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.”

Wait Patiently

Are you patient? Or are you impatient? Does it depend on the circumstances? Are you patient sometimes and impatient at other times? What dictates whether you are patient or not? Is there a pattern? Have you thought about it?

Patience can be hard to come by. We live in an impatient world. We want everything and we want it right now—including patience. We can get immediate answers to questions from Google. We can order just about anything from Amazon and have it within a couple days.

One encounter I had with patience included a lady praying for patience, a mission trip to Romania, a missed flight, and two days trying to get home. A long story, but we all learned a little about having patience during that trip. We jokingly teased her, stating it was all her fault for praying for patience.

James tells his audience to wait patiently for Jesus to come again. It can be a challenge when we see the mess our world is in. We may want Jesus to return immediately and relieve us of all the negatives we are experiencing. However, none of us know when He will return.

On the other hand, we have been waiting for so long—roughly two-thousand years—that we often forget we are waiting. We walk through life blinded by busyness and cultural norms. We rarely think that we are waiting for Jesus to return. We would be well served to remember He is returning and we are to be ready.

I pray we all remember we are waiting for Jesus’ return. I pray we wait with patience and actively spread the hope of Christ. I pray each one of us know that no one knows when Jesus will return. Jesus will return. Wait patiently. Wait actively. Spread the hope of Christ.

James 5:7a “Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.”

Suffering and Patience

Do you like to suffer? My guess is not. Do you like to have to wait patiently? Probably not that either. What is it about suffering that turns us away from it? Why are we so impatient? Is it simply our nature? Or have we morphed into it? Is it something our culture has taught us?

I suspect people of every age have had an aversion to suffering. Enduring pain is not something anyone seeks out. However, we can endure it when we know there is a purpose in it. Military training often includes some form or another of suffering. Yet, there is reason for it.

Patience, on the other hand, is a virtue we could all use in our lives. Though I’m sure there were impatient people in previous centuries, I suspect their impatience was not quite to the extreme we see in our world today. They didn’t have the machines nor Google or Amazon. They had to wait for many of life’s necessities.

James tells his audience to look at the prophets as an example of suffering and patience. The prophets were often suffering from persecution, often from the kings they were prophesying to and against. Their message from God was not popular. They were also very patient. They knew the visions God gave them were not for them but the future. They knew they would not see them fulfilled but continued to believe God would fulfill them anyway.

We may not be required to suffer in the same way the prophets did, but we may suffer from persecution in that our friends may abandon us because we speak out for God. We need to be patient. Though we may say that God works in his time, we often don’t want to wait for him. Yet, when we wait patiently for God to act, we are rewarded handsomely. We discover God had something so much better in mind than we could imagine.

I pray we all are willing to suffer for the good news of Jesus. I pray we follow the example of the prophets. I pray each one of us learn to be patient, waiting for God to work in our lives. Be willing to suffer for Jesus. Be like the prophets of old. Patiently wait for God.

James 5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Give God the Credit

Do you like people who brag about themselves? Is it bragging if what they are stating is true? Is it their attitude when they talk about themselves that makes it bragging? Have you heard Jesus state what He was doing? Do you considered Him to be bragging?

Most of us do not like to listen to a braggart. Someone boasting about their great accomplishments typically doesn’t turn us on. However, we like to hear stories from those who have gong places we haven’t gone and done things we haven’t done. The difference between a story and bragging is delivery.

When John the Baptist sends a couple of his disciples to go ask Jesus if He is the One they were waiting for, Jesus doesn’t give a simple yes or no answer. Instead, Jesus lists the things He was doing. Not only that He tells John’s disciples to report what they had seen and heard He had done. Without context, we might think Jesus was bragging. But Jesus was stating what He had done to demonstrate He was fulfilling prophecy that John would know pointed to the Messiah.

Much like Jesus was stating fact, and likely doing so humbly rather than arrogantly, we can tell people what we have done. Jesus is our example for how to live our lives. Therefore, we can follow Him in this example. Being humble does not mean we must be a doormat. It does mean that when we speak of our accomplishments, we give credit to God for his blessings. We attribute all we have accomplished to God. For we can do nothing without him.

I pray we all follow Jesus’s example. I pray we know it is only by God’s blessing that we can accomplish anything. I pray each one of us give God the credit when we speak of accomplishments. Follow Jesus’s example. Recognize God’s blessings. Give God the credit.

Matthew 11:4-5 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

Prepare for Doubt

Do you have doubts? Have you thought you knew something to be true but later wonder if it is? Has something happened that caused you to question yourself or someone else you believed in? Are you doubting today? Have you become skeptical? Are you asking questions?

Doubt can creep in on even the staunchest of people. We can believe something for our entire lives and suddenly wonder if we were being fooled into a false belief. We can be shaken by an unexpected event. It can throw our world into a topsy turvy mess of emotions causing us to doubt.

Doubt, skepticism, and worry come to us all. It came to John the Baptist. He proclaimed that Jesus was the One, meaning the Messiah. He proclaimed that Jesus would become greater than him because Jesus was before him and was coming after him. He pointed to the same message John the Apostle points out in the first chapter of his gospel, stating Jesus was there at the beginning of creation.

Why did John the Baptist begin to doubt? He was thrown in prison by Herod Antipas out of fear that John’s disciples would cause an uprising among the Jews. While in prison, John sent a couple of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the One. It is likely things were not working out as John thought they would. Maybe he was hoping Jesus would rescue him from prison. We don’t know. However, we know John had a bit of doubt creep in, even though he had proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah.

What are we to do when doubt creeps in? We turn back to Scripture. We read and reread the gospels. We recapture and reaffirm what we know about Jesus. We read His promises again and again. We remember that God has fulfilled his promises in the past and trust he will do so in the future. We turn our doubt into trust.

I pray we all prepare ourselves for doubt to creep in. I pray we continue to read Scripture, especially the gospels. I pray each one of trust in God’s promises, removing our doubts about Jesus. Prepare for doubt. Read Scripture. Trust God’s promises. Remove your doubt.

Matthew 11:2-3 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

Seek Help from God

Are you satisfied with your current situation? Are you disgruntled about something in your life? Are you seeking to improve yourself and your circumstances? How are you going about improvement? Are you trying to do it all yourself? If not, who are you turning to for help?

I suspect all of us could state there is something in our lives we would like to improve. Some of those things may be minor while some of them could be major. Significant change is challenging and can be extremely difficult. We may need to seek help from someone else.

The Psalmist tells us that we will be happy if we seek our help from God. Does that mean the change will happen immediately? Almost certainly not. However, if we are seeking God’s help to change us, change our circumstances, and we are willing to follow his guidance, we will certainly change and our circumstances will change. Not only that, but our attitude toward ourselves and our circumstances will improve.

The Psalmist continues to give reasons for why we can trust God. He made heaven and earth. He made the sea and everything in it. He is faithful, no matter what we do or what happens in this world. He is just and judges righteously for the oppressed. He feeds the hungry, both physically hungry and spiritually hungry. God made everything and provides all that we need.

Therefore, looking to God for our help is our best option. We are likely to fall short if we rely solely on ourselves. Yet, when we rely on God, we can trust that he will provide. God never leaves us alone nor does he stop loving us. His will for us is to live a life that is pleasing to him. One way we can do that is to rely on him for everything. When we do, we will also follow his guidance for our lives.

I pray we all know that we can trust God. I pray we seek God’s help to change ourselves and our circumstances. I pray each one of us will rely on God to provide and follow his guidance. You can trust God. Seek God’s help. Allow God to change you. Rely on God to provide. Follow God’s guidance.

Psalm 146:5-7

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, 

whose hope is in the Lord their God, 

who made heaven and earth, 

the sea, and all that is in them;

who keeps faith forever; 

who executes justice for the oppressed; 

who gives food to the hungry.