The Small Branch

 "So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.  For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign."   (Luke 12:17-18) Do you notice why the people went out to meet Jesus?  They went because of the miracle.  We might condemn them for their lack of faith, but how often do we do the same thing?  "God, I will believe You are with me if You get me out of this situation."  "God, I will trust in You if my life is easy, but once it gets hard, forget it, You obviously don't care."  "God, when things go my way, we're good, but when things don't go my way, I'll be mad at You."  We really say those things, or at least think them.  That is NOT faith.  That is looking for a god in our own image.  We have to believe in the REAL God, the REAL Jesus.  That means trusting Him no matter what is going on ...

 I wanted to add to what we started in the previous post.  If you are wondering if you can be used by God with your past, the genealogy of Jesus is a great place to look.  Noah imbibed too much (Genesis 9:21).  Abraham lied about his wife to save his own skin, possibly sacrificing her, not once, but twice (Genesis 12:11-13 and Genesis 20:2).  Rahab was a prostitute (Joshua 2:1).  Ruth was a Moabite, a hated race (Ruth 1:4).  David was an adulterer and a murderer (2 Samuel 11).  Solomon was a task master and loved too many women (1 Kings 11:3 and 12:4).  The point is, even though these men and women were totally human and made huge mistakes, God still used them to bring the Savior of the world to earth.  You see, it isn't about us.  It isn't about our skills, talents, "goodness", or mistakes.  Everything in life is all about God.  So the question isn't if we have done too much to be lovable and used of God.  The questi...

 Have you ever thought that?  Said it?  Turned your back on God because you believed it?  Looked for life in other places because you were sure you had blown it too badly?  Today I want to look at one example that might help put some of those lies to rest. Acts 7:23-24 says, " When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites.    He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. "  So Moses is a murderer.  He was defending someone else, but still, he killed someone.   But then Stephen continues in verses 35-38, " This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.   He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years i...

 In John 9:41, Jesus says, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say 'We see,' your sin remains."  Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, who have been questioning Him about healing a blind man on the Sabbath.  He is trying to make them see the importance of true sight.  Are we as blind as they?   Jesus tells us, as do Paul and the other authors who have written parts of the New Testament, that we are saved by faith.  We must believe in Him.  But, in order to believe, we must be able to see.  We must be able to see our own sin.  Our own need.  If we are blind to our sin, we will be too blind to believe.  If we don't realize we are blind, we won't have the faith we need to be healed.  We need the Lord to open our eyes to see ourselves as we are and to see Him as He is.  We are sinful, dark, lost.  He is perfect, pure, holy.  The contrast is so great that, when we can see it we are brought to our kne...

 “ 1  To the angel [ a ]  of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.  2  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  3  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4  Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.  5  Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."  Revelation 2:1-5 I have been a Christian for more than three decades.  I grew up in the church and cannot remember a time when I didn't know and love Jesus.  But lately, I have been very co...

 In John 5, Jesus encounters a man who has been sick for 38 years lying near the pool of Bethesda.  We are told that, when an angel of the Lord stirred the waters, the first one into the pool was healed.  The man had been there 38 years, though.  In verse 6 we are told, "When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?""  This seems like an odd question.  When we are sick, of course we want to get well.  Or do we?  It is amazing how much we wallow in our sicknesses, whether sickness of the body, mind, or spirit.  Sometimes, when I have a headache, my husband will say to me, "did you take anything?"  In my stubbornness, the answer is often "no."  I don't want to take the medicine that I know will make my head stop hurting.  It seems silly, but that is what happens.  Here Jesus gets to the heart of the matter for many of us.  Do we...

 Life is rough.  There is never a doubt in anyone's mind about this truth.  Life is hard.  Sometimes, we get knocked down by circumstances completely beyond our control.  Sometimes, we get knocked down as a consequence of a bad choice.  But, no matter what knocks us down, God is faithful.  No matter how we suffer, God is faithful.   Psalm 119:75 says, "I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."  Even when the turmoil is a direct result of our own actions, God faithfully allows us to suffer in affliction to bring us back to Him.  It is the discipline of a good, good Father (Hebrews 12:10).   When we are suffering because of circumstances out of control, He is also faithful.  Psalm 119:49-50 says, "Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me."  We are revived by the Word of ...