Hope Raised

A mother, who was a widow, had lost her only son. ~ Luke 7:12 (NCV)
No one actually knows what happened to her husband, except the Lord of course. She may have married at a young age and life was fulfilling for her. When she became pregnant and gave birth to her only child, a little boy, it seemed that God had blessed them. Maybe it was an accident or an illness; we do not know what it was that took the life of her husband. As a woman without a man in a society that had no social services or government funded security, she was left to feed herself and her son the best she could. The Apostle Paul put it plainly how it worked; “If you do not work, you do not eat.” The boy was her only family. Apparently her husband had no brothers. Her son was her provider. Women could not do public work in that day in that society. When he died her whole world died with him. No income, no family, no inheritance, no hope. Can you understand now why Jesus raised him?

God set this up. The woman and her husband had no idea that their marriage and their son were orchestrated by God. Before He created the boy in the womb God had this day planned. The grief she must have endured at losing her husband and now her son. God wanted the world to see His power, His compassion, and His ability to fix that which seems impossible to fix. Her grief was replaced with joy as death was rebuked and life was restored. That is what God does: He gives joy for sadness.

I do not know what your last straw was. I do not know what has happened that has caused you to think all hope is gone. I do know this though; Christ came to give us life; more than we need! Just as He fixed the widow’s situation He will fix yours. Go to Him. Take your dying hope with you and let Him touch it. The hope you thought was dead will be resurrected! New life breathed into a dying situation by the Giver of Life Himself. Why? Because He loves you and will use you just as He did that family in order that the world may know He is still the Almighty God.

Now Where Is That Tree?

And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. ~ Luke 19:4 KJV


He was just a regular Joe; grew up in a neighborhood full of kids. One thing he did notice however that separated him from his playmates. He was vertically challenged. He was usually the last to be picked when they chose team players. He worked extra hard at being good at everything he did as though he had something to prove to others. He endured all the jokes as he grew into adolescence. Names like “half pint” and “shorty” plagued him at social gatherings. Very few girls were interested in him seeing that he was not tall, dark and handsome. He made it through college and became an accountant. Passing through the market place one day he saw a sign advertising for an IRS agent. No respectable Jew would ever work for the Roman government. The money was tempting in that after collecting the usual tariff he could pocket the rest of it. He finally found a way to get back at all those who had ridiculed him about his stature; now they would pay. For some reason this revenge was not as sweet as he hoped. Although he had more money than most of his fellow citizens he lacked friends. He was not really happy with his life. As the crowd noise arose in the street he knew this man they called Jesus was coming by. He had heard about Him and His kindness toward underdogs. He needed an advantage that day and God had provided it; a tree with limbs close to the ground that he could reach. He found a perch above the crowd and fixed his eyes on the One in front. The Nazarene paused and looked up at the little man perched on a limb like a starling. “Zacchaeus, take Me home for lunch.” Someone finally called him by his proper name. The talk about Jesus was true! He really did care about people; regardless of their height or their reputations. The Grinch’s heart was changed when acknowledged by the King of Kings. His life was changed that day. Forgiveness permeated the greedy spirit and the Spirit of the Lord infiltrated his very soul. He would make it up to those he had cheated; a total one hundred eighty degree change in direction. He never grew an inch physically or biologically on account of that encounter but now he had a chance at new growth; a rebirth you could say.

Feel like an underdog? Think you are lower than the dirt on your shoes? Look for that tree. The one God has placed in your path so you can climb up and make contact with underdogs Champion of Heaven!

Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead.

6) No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. 7) It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. [Psalm 75 NIV]

Osama is dead. That’s the first news I heard this morning. The networks were showing people all around the nation celebrating his demise from Ground Zero to baseball stadiums to college campuses; people cheering, singing God Bless America and the National Anthem. It seems that revenge has been gotten upon the 911 mastermind. It would be wonderful if we could now say that all is well in the world. The head terrorist is dead. Ding dong the witch is dead they sang in Oz. However their celebration did not last long until another, more evil witch showed up. Already people are now starting to wonder what type of retaliation will be carried out. What will his followers do to get even with us now. Who will they target to get revenge? It seems it never ends does it?

As I watched the celebrations I wondered how many, if any, of those cheering had any idea of how this may play into Gods plan for America and the world. I wondered if they really cared. Have they ever given a second thought to how this fits into prophecy? I wondered if any of them thought in their hearts, “God is up to something.” Maybe many of them did; and maybe many of them did not. You my friend are one of the blessed ones. You know God is up to something and you care about what He is up to. You understand that the killing of a man can change history. You know firsthand how the death of a leader can effect generations. You know about Jesus. You know about the cheering crowds the day He was killed. What you know now, the crowds that day did not know; that He would not stay dead! When Jesus was put to death the opposition thought they had won. They believed that this rebel rouser would not be a thorn in their flesh any longer. They rejoiced because the blasphemer had been crucified for His crime against God; claiming to be His Son.

Bin Laden will not rise from his grave. His followers will continue to carry out his mission for him. They will do things in his name but they will do it without his help. His death will not bring peace to the world. Revenge may be sweet for a while but it will not put an end to hatred. Only the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, will put an end to hate forever. The Bin Ladens’ of the world will never be able to do it. We are just one nation under God; He is over all the nations. He rules whether we realize it or not. His will shall be done on Earth as it is in heaven. If you are not following Jesus I highly recommend that you start now. You may be glad that Bin Laden has finally been killed but more importantly; be glad that Jesus is alive! He is the only One that can save you.