Luke 9:48-50 – Us and Them

Luke 9:48-50
48And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.

-We humans are so quick to draw lines in the sand.  Notice John’s accusation against the person in verse 49; John looked right past what he had accomplished and condemned him for not being one of “us”.  We could easily look down on John for this, but how often do we do the same thing?  No doubt more often than we should.  If a person or group of people is truly operating in the name of Jesus Christ, should it matter if they are not “our group”?  We should be happy to see someone else working at all.  Fortunately, the Lord sees past such segregation to the only truth that really matters; there is no “us” and there is no “them”, there is only “Him”.

John 9:5-11 – A Man Called Jesus Anointed Mine Eyes

John 9:5-11
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.
10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?
11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.

-The people had a great question for the man who once was blind; how is it that you came to see?  The man could have attempted to explain the healing properties of the mud once it had been touched by the hand of God or He could have talked about God’s omnipotence and how simple it would be for Him to heal what He had originally created.  Instead, he takes a far simpler and far more profound route by telling everyone who asks that he met a man named Jesus and he was healed when he did what Jesus told him to do.  Being a witness can be the most overwhelming, most terrifying thing for any of us and I think the reason is that we overcomplicate it; we attempt to explain and convince people on biblical matters when the whole time we should just be telling people what the Lord has done for us.  God loved us, sent His Son to die for us, and saved us when we obeyed the scripture.  People can look at the stars and see proof of how big God is, but if you let people take a look at your broken life that God has fixed, they’ll see proof of how good God is.

Genesis 18:1, 10-14 – “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

Genesis 18:1, 10-14
1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

-We are told previously in scripture that Sarah was barren even in her youth (Genesis 11:30).  She is now past the point when even a normal woman would be able to conceive a child and yet the Lord promises that at nearly 100 years old, she will do exactly that.  The sheer size of the Lord’s promise leads her to question it; “If I couldn’t have a child all of these years, how am I supposed to have one now that I’m old?”  The Lord reminded Abraham and Sarah that there is really only one question, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  Focusing on our circumstances will inevitably lead to doubt because our circumstances can get very big.  But if we focus on God instead, we will be able to see how much bigger He is and that “with [Him] all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Genesis 50:18-20 – God Meant It Unto Good

Genesis 50:18-20
18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

-There came a day in Joseph’s life when all of his brothers turned on him.  They threw him in a pit and planned to kill him before ultimately selling him into Egyptian slavery (Genesis 37:18-36).  God took this Egyptian slavery and eventually positioned Joseph so that all of those in the land would depend on him for survival including his brothers.  It would have been easy for Joseph to approach this day with thoughts of revenge and bitterness, but Joseph had only love and kindness to offer his brothers despite how they had treated him.  How did he manage that?  The answer is found right here in verse 20; he recognized that what his brothers had intended as bad, God made it good.  What’s more important than the happy ending here is the fact that Joseph didn’t see the evil of his brothers as a separate thing from the goodness of God.  He grouped them together so that whenever he looked at one, he automatically saw the other.  Do the same when evil befalls you; wrap your circumstance up so tightly in the fact that God can and will use it for good that whenever you look at that bad thing, you can’t help but see God instead.

1 Samuel 7:7-12 – Stone of Help

1 Samuel 7:7-12
7And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him.
10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.
11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

-“Ebenezer” in verse 12 means “Stone of Help”.  When the people cried for deliverance, Samuel presented a burnt offering, but after their salvation, they saw a stone.  So it is with all who will be saved.  We must accept Jesus Christ as “a Lamb as it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6), but after we are saved, we get to see Jesus as a stone (Isaiah 28:16), a rock that cannot be broken and cannot be moved.  Salvation is not subjective because the Savior is not subjective.  Salvation cannot be changed because the Savior cannot be changed.  Salvation cannot be removed because the Savior cannot be removed.

Psalm 50:9-11 – All the Earth is Mine

Psalm 50:9-11
9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.

-We may have moved past the Old Testament system of sacrifices and offerings, but there is a truth here that is still very relevant to us.  Many try to “work” their way into Heaven and do good deeds that they hope will outweigh the bad.  A fundamental problem with a works-based salvation is that we are attempting to give something to the Lord when the Lord already owns everything.  Just as He reminds the Hebrew here in Psalm 50, the cattle that they would sacrifice to Him already belong to Him.  With us, our tithes and offerings already belong to Him.  When we “do good deeds”, we use arms and legs that belong to Him.  If we could find something that didn’t already belong to the Lord, we might have room to argue that we are truly giving something to Him, but as it stands we are trying to use the Lord’s possessions to pay off a debt owed to the Lord.  That doesn’t make much sense, does it?

Matthew 17:19-20 – Little Faith

Matthew 17:19-20
19Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

-As you might know or imagine, mustard seeds are very small and the analogy of a mustard seed was often used by the Jews to signify something of little weight or size.  Jesus tells us that even a tiny amount of faith can move mountains.  But notice the accusation wrapped up in these verses of scripture; “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed…”  By saying “if”, isn’t Jesus telling the disciples that they lack faith even the size of a mustard seed?  There are two very good reasons why a little faith is able to go a long way:  1) Little is always much when God is in it and 2) Little has to be enough because if we are honest with ourselves, there are not too many of us walking around with faith the size of watermelons.

Exodus 20:17 – To Covet Or Not To Covet

Exodus 20:17
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

-Are you familiar with the 10th Commandment?  Often I see this commandment referred to as “Thou shalt not covet”, but that really does a disservice to the nature of the law.  There was a reason that God went to the trouble of spelling out specific things that we should not be coveting; it implies that there are other things that are acceptable to be coveted.  To covet simply means to “yearn after” and while that can be destructive if we are focused on the wrong object, it can also be very positive.  Paul tells us to “covet earnestly the best gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31), which refers to different areas of service to the Lord.  Coveting after a deeper level of trust in God, coveting after a better prayer life, coveting after a chance to serve the Lord in ministry; these are all things that can lead to a deeper level in your relationship to God.  How can we know when coveting is okay?  Remember Paul’s advice in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

2 Samuel 7:19 – Blessings

2 Samuel 7:19
29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

-Everyone wants to be blessed, right?  How many will take the time to consider where a blessing comes from?  Notice David’s specific request here in 2 Samuel– He doesn’t just want to be blessed, he wants to be blessed with the Lord’s blessing.  Blessing simply means favor.  The world can show you favor and even the powers of darkness can show you favor.  What’s the difference between these and the Lord’s blessing you ask?  “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22)

Matthew 14:27-31 – Fear Not Them

Matthew 14:27-31
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

-What a great leap of faith on behalf of Peter.  So certain was he of the Lord’s power, that he had no hesitation of stepping out of the boat and beginning his walk to Jesus.  What happened?  Peter started off so well only to finish so poorly.  Notice the final three words of verse 27, “be not afraid.”  Now notice the three words in the middle of verse 30, “he was afraid.”  You could question Peter’s resolve, but he obviously had the nerve to step out onto the water in the first place.  You could also question Peter’s focus, but who among us would not be equally distracted in such a circumstance.  Peter’s true shortfall was that he disobeyed Jesus’ overarching command for this situation- don’t be afraid.  Fear and doubt go hand-in-hand and the Lord will always have trouble working in the lives of those who manifest either.  Remember Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”  We often think of this verse telling us not to fear other people, but the Greek for ‘them’ is a word that carries a masculine, feminine, and neutral inflexion.  If a man can kill you, don’t fear him.  If a woman can kill you, don’t fear her.  If a storm can kill you, don’t fear it.  Fear God and He will always keep your path straight.  (Proverbs 3:6-7)