When It's Hopeless

Have you ever faced a situation that seemed hopeless, where you saw no way out? The Bible tells of a woman who was facing a hopeless situation recorded in the 5th chapter of Mark. This woman had a sickness for more than twelve years. She had spent all she had trying to get better but instead got worse.  It was at this low point that she had a glimmer of hope. She heard about Jesus. From Matthew 14:36 we know that the news of Jesus healing people was spread about and that as many as touched even the hem of His garment were made perfectly well. This woman must have heard this same thing because when she heard of Jesus, she said within herself, “If I just touch the hem of his garment, I will be healed.” The Bible says that she came to Jesus from behind and touched the hem of His garment and was instantly healed. Jesus turned to her and said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace.”

In the midst of her desperation, touching Jesus made all the difference. Now Jesus is no longer on this earth in a physical form like He was when this woman touched Him. But He is available to us through prayer. Jesus said, “Come unto Me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Anyone who comes to Jesus and with sincerity prays, “Lord Jesus, I’m coming to You, please be my help, please reveal Yourself to me,” Jesus will hear and answer that prayer. Jesus also said, “Anyone who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out.”  Come to Jesus; ask Him to be your Lord, your Savior, and your healer. He is our help.

The New Man

The book of Ephesians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul primarily to gentile believers who had recently accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Paul told them they were now accepted into God's family and redeemed from a life of sin to serve the living God. In chapter four Paul tells these new believers that they are to put off the old man and put on the new man. How do we do this?

The "old man" Paul is talking about is our fleshly nature. That’s the part of us that wants to sin and rebel against God. We are to put off the old man. We do this by making a quality decision to no longer cater to the desires of the fleshly nature. The same way someone would take off an old ragged jacket that no longer serves any useful purpose, we put off the old man, whose identity is in rebelling against God.

Then, we are to put on the new man. How do we do that? By making a quality decision to obey God and whatever His word tells us to do. The same way someone would decide to put on a beautiful new jacket given to us by a friend, we can put on the new man. It starts with a decision to follow God with our whole heart. Our identity is no longer with the old man, but with the new man who is created in Christ Jesus to do good works. It starts with a decision, but the power necessary to maintain this decision has to come from God. We don’t have the power in ourselves to consistently put on the new man, but by surrendering our lives daily to Jesus, His power helps us to put on the new man.

Jesus Won the Victory

When Jesus rose from the dead He defeated death and its power. Through Jesus, there is the promise of eternal life for all who put their trust in Him. If eternal life was the sum total of what Jesus accomplished at Calvary that would be awesome. But Jesus accomplished so much more that applies to the here and now. His promises are not just for getting to heaven, but for experiencing God's presence every day.

In rising from the dead, Jesus not only won the victory over death, He also won the victory over sickness and disease. Acts 3 tells of a man who was lame from his mother’s womb. When he saw Peter and John going up to the temple to worship, he asked them for alms. Peter said, “What I have, I give you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” The lame man rose up well, walking and leaping and praising God.

In Acts 2 the disciples gathered for prayer. As they sought God, the power of the Holy Spirit fell and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then Peter preached his first sermon telling of the saving power of Jesus, and three thousand were saved that day. Acts 16 tells of a young lady who was possessed by an evil spirit. She followed the apostle Paul around and after some time, he turned to her and cast out the evil spirit by the power of the name of Jesus.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He won the victory over death. He also gave His name to His church. That in the name of Jesus there is salvation, healing, and deliverance from the control of satan and the promise of eternal life if we believe in Him. Praise God!

The Tale of Two Heart Conditions

The Christmas Story includes a tale of two heart conditions. The Gospel of Matthew chapter two tells us of  wise men from the east who were seeking to find Him who was born King of the Jews. They followed the light of His star which led them to Bethlehem, where they presented gifts to this King, and then fell down and worshiped Him.

This same chapter from the Bible tells us of another man, King Herod. When he heard the announcement of this King's birth, he acted like he wanted to worship Him, but instead he wanted to kill Him. Why did he want to kill this baby? Because Herod thought this baby's birth could somehow interrupt his reign as king. He gave the order to have every male child in this district two years old or younger to be killed.

Here we find examples of two heart conditions. Heart condition one: “Wise men,” who when they   heard of the coming Messiah, sought Him out, found Him and worshiped. Heart condition two: “Herod,” who upon hearing of this King, rejected Him, and sought to neutralize any effect Jesus might have on his  life. Instead of submitting to this King's authority, he thought only of preserving his own reign.

So today, we tell the Christmas Story of a babe born in Bethlehem, born for one reason, to pay the debt for our sins on a cross 33 years later. Do we give Him the glory He deserves as King and Lord, or do we seek to preserve our life and let nothing interrupt our reign? Jesus said, “Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” 

My prayer this Christmas is that all may find the peace and forgiveness found only in Jesus, by responding with the heart of the wise men.

Submit, Then Resist

1 Peter 5:8 refers to the devil as “our adversary,” whom we are to resist, steadfast in the faith.  How does one resist the devil?  James 4:7 says, “Submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  Some make the mistake of trying to resist the devil without doing the first part of this verse.  It is only by submitting our lives to the Lord that we have power to resist the schemes of the devil.  When we submit to God, we are saying, “God, I choose to obey You and obey Your word.”  Submitting to God is the first step in resisting the devil.

Webster’s dictionary defines “resist” as “to withstand and remain strong against the force of something.”  To remain strong against the forces of the devil takes the power of God.  Human strength will only go so far.  We need God’s power to withstand the devil.  In Luke 10:19 Jesus said, “Behold I give you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy.”  Jesus has given His followers authority to use His Name to withstand and remain strong against all the forces of darkness.

Another aspect of resisting the devil is to keep a humble heart.  James 4:6 says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  The devil started out as “the anointed cherub or angel” who became so prideful he thought he could overthrow God.  When we get lifted up in pride, we are following satan (and God resists the proud).  But if we will humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He will be our help and strength.  If the believer in Jesus will submit to God, and resist evil using Jesus’ name and authority, the devil will surely flee from us.

The Value of Salvation

Salvation is one of the greatest gifts Almighty God has offered to man. Hebrews 2:2 asks the question “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation”? Have we neglected God’s salvation? In our world today, the subject of salvation has been so watered down that almost everyone thinks that they will receive it, yet very few have taken the time to find out what God says is necessary to receive it. 

To get an idea of the worth of any item, one must first get an idea of how much it cost to make this item. The same is true of salvation. What was the cost when God sent His only Son Jesus to come to this earth to offer His life as a ransom for our sins? What did it cost our Lord Jesus, when on the cross after taking the sins of the whole world on himself uttered, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”? What is the value that God places on salvation, and do we approach salvation with the reverence and respect it and God deserves? 

The good news is that God did not make salvation difficult, yet it came at a great cost. Jesus said “He who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out”. Jesus also said “He who does not forsake all and follow me, cannot be my disciple." And again, “whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple."

Salvation is a free gift, yet it’s worth is beyond anything we could imagine. Salvation is free, yet it costs our complete surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Count the cost, then realize the benefit of receiving Jesus as Lord of your life. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?