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Archive for October, 2010

Unmet Expectations

Posted in Healing, Jesus, Prayer on October 26, 2010| 2 Comments »

Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”

When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'”

At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.

And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.  Luke 7: 19-22

John the Baptist had been arrested by Herod and thrown into prison.  John did what was right and stood up to Herod for his sin.  In return John was arrested and later beheaded.  Jesus never came to rescue John the Baptist.  Why didn’t Jesus come to John’s aid?  John wanted to know and even sent two of his disciples to ask if Jesus really was “The One.”

Many times are expectations are not met by God.  Many times we find ourselves in situations beyond our control and we hope and pray God will deliver us from those situations.  There are times we pray for healing and it does not come.  There are times we pray for God to spare a loved one’s life but they still die.  Is God listening?  Does God care?  Do we have enough faith?  These are questions people ask when God does not meet their expectations.  Often times God does not give us the answer we are looking for.

In John’s case Jesus responded to John’s inquiry that the gospel was being preached, the sick were being healed and the dead were being raised.  Jesus didn’t go to save John but sent him the answer.  Jesus was doing what the Father had sent Him to do.  He was spreading the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.  Jesus knew John’s plight but the issue Jesus was concerned about was not a temporary one but an eternal one.  Yes Jesus was the expected One and He was doing exactly what God intended Him to do – saving the world.

There are things that happen in life that we don’t always understand.  Sometimes we do not get the answer from God that we seek.  But we should take courage in knowing that He is the one and that the gospel is preached.  I don’t know why Jesus did not rescue John or why John died the way he did.  John paved the way for Jesus and he was able to see Jesus, baptize Him, and know that the Gospel was being preached.

When things do not go the way we expect let us remember that God is still God.  He will never forsake us especially in our time of need.  God is the eternal answer to our temporary situations.  Let us continue to rely on God even when we do not understand everything about God.  We have to continually put our faith in God, even when are expectations are not met.

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Grace

Posted in Grace, Jesus, Love, The Father on October 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'”

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.  John 1: 14-17

Grace has many definitions.  One way grace is defined is God’s unmerited favor and love of God that is freely given.  We find this in the above scriptures.  Jesus was given as a gift to man from God the Father.  Jesus came full of grace and truth.  God so loved us that He gave us His only begotten Son Jesus Christ; through Jesus we have received God’s unmerited favor and love.

Before Jesus we had the law.  The law was given to us by Moses.  It was impossible to earn God’s favor and love by observing the law.  Jesus fulfilled the law but Jesus did not come to teach us to exist only by the law.  Jesus came to give us grace so that we may experience the love of the Father.  It is also this grace that enables us to live according to God’s word and purpose for our lives.  God never intended for us to live apart from Him and His word; that is why we have Jesus – God’s gift of Grace.

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Train A Child

Posted in Law, Teaching on October 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.  Proverbs 22:6

This past summer we went on a Mission Trip to Uganda, and we took our young children with us to the remote areas we visited.  One weekend we ministered at a church in a small village.  Our children never complained about the lack of their usual comforts (TV, snacks, toys, etc.).  Instead my son wanted to stay with his father to “preach”.  I was amazed how my son mimicked his father’s every move while he preached.  He even held a small bible in his hands and stood next to his father while he preached to the people.  Wherever we went my son wanted to be next to his father preaching.  Both my son and daughter laid hands on people and prayed for them.  Yet they are only six and four years old.

As I have watched my children grow I am constantly amazed at how impressionable they are.  They truly are like sponges.  They take in whatever they see or hear.  Everything influences our children (parents, siblings, teachers, friends, relatives, entertainment, etc.)  Who is influencing your child?

There are days my son wants to be Batman, Superman, Spiderman, or even Tigger.  Most of the time he wants to be like his dad.  He wants to wear the same clothes, walk like him and talks like him.  As parents we have such a huge influence over our children and we are expected to train them starting when they are born.

They say that 90% of a child’s personality is developed by the age of 5.  This means the first five years are crucial and we the parents should be the one influencing our children and training them in the way they should go.  The scripture above tells us that if we do this they will not depart from it when they grow old.  Kids may rebel in their teens or early 20s, trying their best to be unlike their parents, but eventually most turn out like mom or dad.  If we parents do not influence and train our child someone else will.

It really does take a village to raise a child.  Even if you do not have children yourself, know that you are an influence on the youth.  They see us and they are watching.  They listen to our speech, watch what we do, and imitate what they see.  The above scripture works both ways – if you train a child to do badly, when he is old he will do bad.  Children will grow up doing as adults what they are trained to do as children.  The youth are our responsibility and we all have a responsibility to raise the next generation of godly men and women – who shun evil and fear God.

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