The Great Eclipse

You might have thought that this blog was going to be about the recent solar eclipse which drew so much attention August 21, 2017. It is and isn’t. Yes, it was just an eclipse and yes, it had some significant biblical meaning, but there is another parallel in scripture that is completely different from the prophecies talked about.

I woke up early this morning….earlier than usual. In fact, it was still dark outside when I woke up, so I stepped outside to hear how quiet everything still was. Even the birds, who were waiting on the morning sunrise, were not chirping yet. I could see a couple of lights on in nearby houses, but everything was still very still.

That is when I noticed a shooting star streaking across the sky. It was beautiful. And as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. What was left was a sky full of glittering stars, too numerous to even guess how many there were. I could see the Milky Way galaxy as a stripe in the night sky. Some stars appeared closer than others because of their brightness and size.

I stood in awe of how everything fit together and thought about how just 16 hours earlier, I was watching another beautiful sight in the day sky….the eclipse. It only lasted a short time, but it was beautiful. Day and night, there is always something to look at in the sky. Always a story to tell us.

After I stood there this morning, amazed by the sights of the night, I realized that I was missing two things: My coffee and my morning Bible and worship time. So, I went back inside and started my coffee. I sat down to pray while the coffee was brewing and thanked God for the awesome sights I saw over the last 24 hours.

Once I had coffee in my cup and took the first sip, I was ready to read my Bible. I like reading in the morning because my mind is pretty clear, not distracted by my work and life in general. It’s my routine.

I decided to change from my normal reading plan and just open my Bible to see what was there. That’s when I knew I had made the right choice. My Bible opened to Psalm 19. God used David to write some of the most beautiful song lyrics ever. But, this chapter was meant for me this morning.

Psalm 19:1-6

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
⁵     It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
    and makes its circuit to the other;
    nothing is deprived of its warmth.

Wow.

Now I understood what I saw. While I was watching the eclipse, while I stood admiring the early morning stars….they were silently shouting out the praises of God! Praise over all of the earth! They did not speak a word, but they made themselves known to everyone who wanted to see them. And, they put on the same show every single night! They were there before I was born and they will be there long after I am gone proclaiming the works of God Almighty.

The stars, the planets, the moon, the sun….all of them silently telling me this morning that my God is more than words can describe. He is without limit. He is all knowing. He is clearing a path of blessings for me. His plans are without chaos. His love is unconditional. His promises will come to pass no matter how much I think I mess them up. He forgives my worst mistake. He sees every tear I cry. He listens to all of my pleadings.

All of this and more….just by taking time to look up.

“The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

The Genie and His Magic Lamp

When I was much younger, I used to always wonder what it would be like to find a magic lamp buried somewhere. And, just like in the stories, I imagined rubbing the lamp and watching a genie appear out of the lamp and the genie would tell me “I will grant you any wish you want”. So, I always thought about what my one wish would be.

When I was little, it was a Batman Batcave complete with the Batmobile. That was way beyond my capability to buy, so I thought that the only way I could get it is if I wished for it.

As I got a few years older, all of my friends had really cool looking bicycles. I didn’t because we couldn’t afford one and I thought that if I could wish for just one thing, it would be a Schwinn Stingray bicycle with a banana seat, suicide handlebars and a sissy bar on the back.

 

And, of course, when I was old enough to drive, I wished for a lot of different cars, especially a tricked out Pontiac Firebird.

 

As I got older and into the workforce, material things took over my desires. If I had a magic lamp, I would wish for $1 million or more. Then I could buy anything I wanted. If I really wanted to be smart about it, I would just wish for 3 more wishes and still have anything I wanted.

But, there is no magic lamp. There is no genie. And there are no wishes granted…..or are there?

After I got saved and realized that my hope was not in a genie, but in an Almighty God who loves us so much that He gave us the ultimate wish…eternal life though Jesus Christ, the one sacrifice to end all sacrifices.

And, I realized through God’s Word, that we can have our wishes granted. Psalm 37:4 says “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Wow. That’s easier than a magic lamp!

The difference is that we don’t have to find a magic lamp and rub it for a genie to pop out. We simply have to “Delight in the Lord”. In other words, if we delight in something or someone, we make it or them our focus. Everything we do and think about revolves around that thing or person. If you have a relationship with someone special, such as a girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or wife, or even someone you really want to have a relationship with, you do everything you can to make that person happy. It makes you happy to see them happy.

When we want to do the things that we know makes God happy, we delight in Him. And He give us a promise…he will give us the desires of our heart. It’s like God is granting us our wish. The difference is that there is not just ONE wish, our wishes with God are without limit.

But, let’s just say that you had only ONE wish. ONE desire of your heart. What would it be? Don’t answer so quickly. Think about it. You only have one wish. You probably wouldn’t wish for a new toothbrush because you could go buy that. And, you probably wouldn’t ask for a bicycle because you could at least save enough money to buy that too.

Your ONE wish should be something that is impossible for you to obtain on your own. Something so huge, so unthinkable, that the ONLY way it would happen is if God Himself made it happen.

Example: Your Dad or husband is an alcoholic and not able to break free from his addiction. It makes your life miserable. The only way he will break free from that addiction is if God intervenes.

Example: You are in a dead-end or abusive relationship, but not able to break free. You know the relationship is not good for you, but you hang on anyway and the only way you can get away is if God intervenes.

Example: You just found out that you have cancer. You know that you will have to go through agonizing treatments and realize the consequences if you don’t. You didn’t prepare for this. You didn’t ask for this. But it’s there. The only way that the cancer is going to disappear is by the healing power of God.

Example: Your best friend is headed down the wrong path in life, making bad choice after bad choice. You know that the answer is to see them let Jesus into their heart, but it’s the choice that they have to make.

Example: Your husband just walked in the door and told you that he wanted a divorce and that he was moving out. He says there is no going back. You’re heartbroken and feel helpless. You begin to realize that the only way your marriage can be saved is if God makes it happen.

I could go on….relationships, finances, employment, health….on and on.

So, what is it? What is one thing that you want more than anything and you know that the only way it is going to happen is if God alone makes it happen. All you have control of is your communication and relationship with God.

Think about it. Think about it hard because you are about to make that wish. You are about to tell God the very desire of your heart. The same desire that He promises to give you.

But, there’s a catch. You must do something first. It’s simple. DELIGHT IN THE LORD. Talk to God every day. Read His letters to you (The Bible). Tell other people about how you feel about God. Those are the things that make Him happy. They also happen to be the things that will make you happy.

Then, I want you to do this…write your wish down. Write it down and put it somewhere. Maybe your Bible. Maybe the place where you pray. Maybe at the church altar. The point is that you are giving it to God. You are giving Him your deepest desire. Your one wish.

Just do it. Then watch what happens. You’re welcome.

Are you crazy????

Matthew 4:18-22 says this -“18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

I can imagine that their Dads thought they were crazy for leaving the family business and just walking away from job security and responsibilities. I know my Daddy would. In fact, he would have probably grabbed me by the arm, dragged me back into the boat and told me “NO! You are not doing this! That’s crazy!”

Every Christian’s life is marked by windows of opportunity that demand that you take a crazy step of faith in order to follow Christ.  And what makes that step so crazy is that it always involves a pretty big and sometimes huge risk.  There are times where God will place an opportunity in front of you and it may be in your career, it may be with regard to your finances, it may be in regard to a relationship, it may be completely taking up your roots and moving to a different place. And He’s going to say, “In order to obey me, in order to follow me, in order to allow me to bless you, this is what you need to do in this situation.”  And everything in you says this is CRAZY!!! “Are you serious??? – God, surely you don’t want me to do that. I’m happy here. I’m comfortable here. Why fix it if it’s not broken!”

You see, sometimes there is this little window of opportunity that opens and it looks so impossible, that you know that the only way it will work is if God makes it work. And it takes that crazy step of faith to start it.  And the reason it’s crazy is because you start reasoning with yourself, “You know what?  If this doesn’t work out, this relationship could fall apart.  If I just up and move, I would be leaving everything I own and we are going to move to this new place.  If I do that, that may ruin my career possibilities in the future.  If I do that I won’t be able to pay my bills in three months. God, you don’t want me to do that, do you?”

Where there is no risk, there is no faith.  Let me say that again.  Where there is no risk, there is no faith.  And where there is no faith, there is no power.  And where there is no faith, there is no joy.  And where there is no faith, there’s no intimacy with God.  And where there is no faith, there aren’t those supernatural miracles.  And where there is no faith, there is no reward.  And when you take that step of faith, you hold that mustard seed in your hand and you are telling God “you’ve got this, Father! I’m taking that step.”

THAT pleases God.

Now….watch that mountain move.