Why We Have to Wait for the Lord

Earlier this year a friend prayed for me.

In the midst of the prayer he stopped and told me he felt the Lord was giving him a verse for me: Isaiah 40:31.

He told me how I had been faithful in waiting on the Lord and then told me some of the things he felt the Lord was going to do for me in the near future consistent with Isaiah 40:31. It was so positive, I couldn’t help but wonder if he had confused his hopes for me as a friend with the voice of the Lord. I was ready to dismiss his encouraging words as just that.

Two days later my legal assistant gave me a thank you card for some flowers I had bought her the week before. On the thank you card she had written, “Isaiah 40:31.” I asked her why she had written that verse. She replied that she had prayed and specifically asked the Lord for a word for me and that is what He had given her. At that point there was no doubt my friend had heard from the Lord two days earlier when he gave me the same word. So, I began to study Isaiah 40:31.

Isaiah 40:31 reads:

Yet those who wait for the Lord

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.

When I began studying this verse, I did what I often do when studying the Bible: I asked questions, specifically, “Why do we have to wait upon the Lord?” It’s  a fair question, and there is actually a very good answer. That answer is, time. Continue reading “Why We Have to Wait for the Lord”

Faith In The Face of Uncertainty

the pathIf you’ve followed this blog, you probably know my wife and I are in the process of a move.

While planning to build our dream home in the suburbs, we felt the Lord calling us to downsize and move downtown.

The place we purchased downtown is half the size of the house we are leaving. The house we are leaving has a swimming pool, library, study and weight room. Our new place has two bedrooms and living room/kitchen.

I’d be lying if I said I haven’t wondered, as we’ve been packing, if we were doing the right thing by leaving a place we love and are comfortable with for a place and lifestyle that is for all practical purposes to us an unknown. I don’t want to make it more dramatic than it is. We are not walking into martyrdom, or risking our life for the Gospel, but we are trying to be obedient to Jesus. Continue reading “Faith In The Face of Uncertainty”

A Post-Christmas Message

empty-mangerOn Christmas Eve I was reading the Christmas story in Matthew and Luke, and I saw something I had never seen.

An angel appeared to the shepherds in the field and told them a Savior had been born and where to find Him. (Luke 2:8-18).

The Shepherds do what any of us would have done: they go to try to find Him.

They find Him, and Luke says this about what happens next:

“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had ben told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

(Luke 2:16-19). Continue reading “A Post-Christmas Message”

History v. Fantasy

In response to Christianity’s claims regarding Jesus’ resurrection many critics argue first century people were just naive and prone to believe fantasy and myth. Not hardly.  Consider the following.

This from Peter:  “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16).

From the blind man whom Jesus healed, responding to a disbelieving crowd: “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.” (John 9:32).

Thomas, after hearing initial reports of the resurrection: “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25).

Jesus’ miracles validated his authority and His resurrection validated His identity, and He hid neither in clever theological arguments but instead planted them firmly in history, in space and time, where they could be observed by all who would attempt to answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” GS