Category: trust

Real Faith and 3D Glasses

Seeing what others cannot

“When He saw their faith.”

Luke 5:20

The healing of the paralyzed man is loaded with lessons for us.  He lies motionless on his pallet, unable to move.  His incredible and loyal friends have dedicated themselves to getting him into Jesus’ presence.  But the house is full; its beyond standing room only, they can’t get close.  They are desperate.  Jesus is so near, they can hear Him teach, and yet so far away.

One of them has a wild idea.  They will lower him down into the room from the roof!  Energized by this thought they put the plan into action.  I can just see them, working feverishly.  When the hole is big enough, they carefully lower the paralyzed man down slowly.  We read that, “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 5:20).

Example of 3D without glasses

God can see faith.  It is invisible to us, and takes a special work of grace for us to do so.  It is not an easy thing to see faith.  If you go downtown to watch a movie in 3-D the attendant will issue you special glasses.  With them everything is enhanced.

The Lord sees faith, and responds in kind.  His powers of perception and discernment are advanced far beyond our puny human efforts.  But God is pleased when we show our faith by our works. They fascinate Him and He delights when His children prove a living faith by actions.  Our faith can only be seen by what we do.

The faith of the paralyzed man, and the faith of his friends makes them  fluorescent in a black & white world.  It jumps out to Jesus, and it is hard to see anything else.  Faith stands out, and it cannot be hid.

There is so much here in Luke 5, so many lessons and so much wisdom.  Much of it lies at the surface, and can be picked up like gold nuggets.  I think that I could preach six months on this chapter alone.  It is that good.

ybic,  Bryan 

When Being Crushed is Part of His Plan

“Crush Me”

“Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
That it would please God to crush me . . .”  Job 6:8

I have been in crushing times when relief didn’t come like I wanted.

Lord, I can’t always understand what is going on in my life or the lives of loved ones, and so I cry out for Your mercy.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

<

The Crushing Place

Source- asterick.apod.com
s

We may not know
what it was like
to be Job

in a place
so desperately thin
he’d ask God
to crush him

but for those that
do know
that are there

we cry out
for mercy
and hold them
in prayer.

^

Deb Feller’s Blog– Simple Poems, A Simple Blog:  http://wp.me/K8fw

^
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Olympic Sized Hearts

 Seven rules for running the Christian race.

  1. Run to win: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
  2. Observe strict discipline: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training… I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).
  3. Don’t look back: “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
  4. Get constant encouragement: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us…run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3).
  5. Throw off restraints: “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
  6. Discount pain: “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:22-24).
  7. Don’t let up until you cross the line: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).                                                 Jim Elliff
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Luminosity

 

Luminosity, the state of being luminous, brilliance or radiance.

In Astronomy, the state in which a star radiates energy in every direction.

  • John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
  • Lamentations 3:2, ‘He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light.”
  • Micah 7:8, “Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”
  • Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.”
  • 2 Corinthians 4:7, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

Personal Thoughts

We can only see, if we have a strong light to “discover” everything that is in close proximity to that light. Jesus declared that He was “the light of the world.” When He draws close to us (usually in our difficulties) we find that we still function, as light bearers to our very dark world.

Jesus has transferred His light, unto us, His Church. But being a light bearer isn’t always easy. And His church hiccups and skips as we try to absorb this reality. Disturbed and confused, we try to squeeze past its challenging reality. But, all we find is a dark confusion.This disturbs us. Obviously.

We need all that is light. Throughout the New Testament, we are notified that “we are children of the light.” This is the core of our personality. We have been separated from the works and deeds of darkness. We simply do not make very good sinners any more. We do try though, but we will never be successful sinners. We no longer have the aptitude for it.

Being the light has certain responsibilities. We have been irrevocably touched by God, and we must live with this.  

“Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Actually, we are at our best when we step against evil, and the darkness. Luminous, we step out and shine. We become all that the Lord Jesus desires. We have become “the Green Berets” of the Spirit. He places us on a hill. From there we shine.

I suppose that this is quite obvious to many of you, I suppose that I state nothing new to you. And yet I am quite aware that God’s grace touches us, and we “become electric.” His presence, makes us the light, and we shine for Him.

ybic, Bryan

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