And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying . . . But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:11-13, ESV) Saul, the fierce persecutor of the early church, was on a mission. He was on his way to Damascus to hunt down more Christians, but his plans went awry as he traveled toward that city. Suddenly a bright…
“Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign . . . “Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household.” (Joshua 2:12 and 18, ESV) After years of wandering, the time had come for the children of Israel to move into the land God had promised. Joshua, their leader since the death of Moses, told them to prepare themselves and be ready to move out. But first, he sent two men toward Jericho to spy out the land. hiding in jericho When the men entered Jericho, they needed a place to lodge for the night where they might not be noticed. The men entered the house of Rahab, a prostitute. It was also a place where travelers could lodge, so the spies’ comings and goings would be less obvious. Her house was built into the city wall. Rahab recognized that the men were Israelites and probably…
“For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37, NKJV) Have you ever prayed for the seemingly impossible? Or did the impossibility of your need keep you from praying? It doesn’t have to. When we ask in faith, nothing is impossible with God. James 1:6 tells us: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” (NKJV) Possibilities with God Let’s consider a few impossibilities that God turned into realities. God created everything out of nothing. (Genesis 1) Ninety-year-old infertile Sarah gave birth to a healthy baby boy. (Genesis 21) The sun and the moon stood still. (Joshua 10) The sun moved backward ten steps on the sundial. (Isaiah 38) Three men walked out of a fiery furnace with no burns on their body. (Daniel 3) Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11). Many other instances are also recorded. If there are any limitations on what God can do, it is because of our lack of faith—not His inability. The Lord doesn’t mind when we seek Him for the difficult or the impossible. Impossible isn’t even in His vocabulary. He invites us…
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, NKJV) The early church suffered strong persecution, but they faced their persecutors with boldness. They demonstrated reckless faith despite the opposition they faced. Their stories are a lesson for us all. The Boldness of Ordinary Men Somehow, I have always pictured the apostles and others I read about in the New Testament as super Christians—fearless, courageous, and determined. But then I realized they were just ordinary people like…
“Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.” Ecclesiastes 11:5 I have a young daughter who often asks me, “Mama, do you know everything?” This is a very humbling moment for me, as you can imagine, as there are many things I don’t understand. For example, how does your skin hold you all together, yet it’s so fragile that even paper can cut it? How do galaxies keep going and never end? How does God make every snowflake unique? I can become overwhelmed by what I don’t know, and there will be many times that I won’t understand what God is doing in my life. I have the choice as to how I handle those conflicting feelings. I can choose to trust, even when I am filled with doubt, and I can choose to press on, even though I am weak and worn. Even if my mind can’t comprehend it, I can rest in the fact that He is working it out for my good. His ways are so much higher than ours, and…
“And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.” Matthew 15:33-37 ESV Sometimes the task of reaching a lost and broken world can feel overwhelming and frightening. Cancel culture threatens us into silence, sin is celebrated, and many loved ones have walked away from the truth. It’s devastating, and if we aren’t careful, we will begin to shrink back and quiet ourselves. We are living in desolate times—a place of loneliness, confusion and questions. The disciples in the above scriptures ask, in the literal sense, where they will find enough bread to feed the crowd. It was their desolate place, and I imagine that they were perplexed and unsure of what to do…