Impossible

December 15, 2024

 “For with God nothing will be impossible.”” —Luke 1:37 

Another version translates these words, “For no word of God will never fail.” 

I like this translation because it clears up a misconception that many have about what is or is not possible with God. Years ago, a skeptic posited this question about this verse: “Could God make a stone so large he couldn’t lift it?” Of course, such a question is nonsense, but it illustrates how Scripture can be twisted and perverted. 

This promise simply states that what God promised to do, he will do. That is both good and bad. God promises to reward the faithful, but also to punish those who do evil. In case you are worried which side of the fence you are on, the Good News is that God meted out upon his Son the punishment you and I deserved. He said, “the soul that sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4, 20), but he also said, ““For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (II Corinthians 5:21). God’s Word shall never fail.

There’s a lot of things we think we can count on in life, only to discover that riches fail, friends betray, health falters. Only God’s Word is sure. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Believe it. Count on it. God’s Word shall never fail.

Possibility

 December 14, 2024

““Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”” —Luke 1:30-34 

Gabriel’s announcement to Mary was pretty amazing. She was going to have a very special baby. “Son of the Most High…throne of David…his kingdom will never end.” All this apparently went right by Mary. All she heard was “you’re going to have a baby,” and all she thought was, “I’m a virgin.”

Skeptics have ridiculed the virgin birth, saying that is is a story concocted to cover up an illegitimate pregnancy. If your world-view is mechanistic, anything that smacks of the supernatural is inadmissible. But Christian teaching from the beginning has asserted the virgin birth of Jesus. Why? Three reasons:

1. It was the fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah (7:14) said “the virgin will conceive and bear a son.”
2. It ensured the sinlessness and divinity of Jesus. As Mary’s son, he was human. From the Holy Spirit that overshadowed her, he was divine—God in human flesh.
3. It means God can supernaturally invade your life, too. No matter what your circumstances, God can step in, and when he does, amazing things can happen. Even to you.

Paying Attention

December 13, 2024

 We have to pay attention to the details if we’re to get it right. In Luke 1, we have two similar but very different responses to Gabriel’s announcements.

“Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” —Luke 1:18

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” —Luke 1:18, 34 

“What’s the difference,” you say? Plenty. Zechariah was questioning the power of God. Mary was only questioning the process. Zechariah didn’t believe God could do this; Mary couldn’t understand how God would do it. The language is similar, but the meaning could hardly be more different.

When you’re praying for something, asking God how he plans to accomplish his plans is OK. Questioning his ability to carry them out is not. The first is curiosity. The second is unbelief. God loves curious people; he isn’t so fond of unbelief. If you’re unsure in which category your questions lie, simply ask yourself if you’re questioning the what or the how

Strange Blessings

 December 12, 2024

What kind of blessing is this?

““Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.” —Luke 1:30-31 

Gabriel had just told Mary she was favored by God. When you think of God’s favor, what comes to mind? Wealth? Health? Happy family? For you girls, I’ll bet you wouldn’t equate God’s favor with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy that you’ll have to explain to your fiancé when you get home from a trip. It would be hard enough in our culture, but back then, such things were seriously frowned upon. Mary would be shunned, an outcast; her husband-to-be would be laughed at, her family shamed. This was definitely NOT good news! Even the angel’s explanation that her baby would be the Savior of the world wouldn’t be able to dull the edge that would cut to the depths of her heart.

Pay attention here: When God favors you, it may not look to you like the blessing you want to receive. It may look more like shame than honor; it may include ridicule and ostracism; Mary was only beginning to learn how much God’s blessing would cost her.

The blessing God has for you may tear at your very soul. Often, the feel-good blessings are Satan’s counterfeit, while the challenges are God’s gift, designed to drive you to your knees and to the foot of the Cross.

December 11, 2024

 If you’ve ever been confused about things that were happening to you, join the club! You may be like Job, enduring all sorts of problems, from the loss of possessions and people in your life, or you may be like Solomon, wondering at the blessings and favor God has dumped into your lap. Either way, life can be somewhat perplexing.

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.” —Luke 1:26-29 

Mary had such an experience; an angel visitation. If an angel suddenly appeared, telling me I was favored by God and that God was with me in a special way, you can bet I would be more than a little confused. I can think of lots of people who are more likely and worthy candidates for such favor than I. Like Mary, I would be trying to think what such a message could mean.

In this Advent season, try to be extra aware of the ways God might be wanting to pay you a visit. You might not believe you’re worthy of it, but God’s grace isn’t dependent on our worthiness. And if you think you’ve experienced a divine visitation, don’t just jump into the first reaction that comes to mind. Think on it. Let it sink in. God takes his time, and you don’t need to short-circuit his plans by thoughtless action.

Unconditional Promises

 12/3/24

Good morning!

It was a bit challenging to get much done yesterday; I spent most of it plowing snow. But a snowstorm is no reason to neglect my writing for you, so here goes:

Yesterday, I mentioned that God plans ahead. The difference between his plans and ours is that he can do so in great detail, knowing exactly how he will arrange things in the future. We can plan ahead, but there are so many unknowns that our plans may or may not pan out. Let me give you an example of each kind of plan.

God spoke through his prophet Micah these words:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” —Micah 5:2 

Although Joseph and Mary were from Nazareth, they ended up in Joseph’s ancestral village at just the right time for Jesus to be born there, just as Micah had foretold more than 700 years before. It was God’s plan, and he made sure Augustus would put together a tax system that would require Joseph to be in Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth.

Our plans are a bit more iffy. Paul had intended to take the Gospel into Asia Minor. Had he done so, you and I might not be Christians today.

“After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

—Acts 16:7-10 

God directed Paul to the Western world where the Gospel took root, eventually resulting in the establishment of the Church in Europe, and ultimately our salvation. So when you make plans for your life, make sure you make room for God’s interruptions. He knows his plans better than you know yours.

Love,

Beepa

Advent 2

December 2, 2024

 If you want to get picky about it, Advent really begins at almost (literally) the beginning. After telling us how God created everything, the book of Genesis tells us how the Serpent Satan messed it all up. The result of that first temptation and sin was a threefold curse; one on the man, one on the woman, and one on the serpent. The latter is the focus of our thoughts today.

“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” —Genesis 3:15

That bruising wouldn’t happen for thousands of years, and wasn’t accomplished at Jesus’ birth, but that birth set everything in motion. And it was all anticipated from the very beginning. God is all over detailed advance planning. Two things come to mind:

1. When I was a newbie preacher, I needed someone to cover for me on a particular Sunday some weeks in the future. A friend agreed, and every Friday I asked him how he was progressing on his sermon. His repeated reply, “The Holy Spirit will lead me” didn’t give me much confidence. I was right. Don’t confuse laziness with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn’t do things spur of the moment. Our God plans ahead.
2. When it seems everything is going wrong, remember God has a plan. Like Jesus our Lord, you may get bruised, but it’s nothing compared to the bruising being doled out on that old Serpent, the devil. Your wound may hurt, but his is fatal. That’s what Advent is all about.