Stepping in the Light

“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37

When we say that something is impossible, we mean that it cannot be done. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with the message that she would be the one to bear the promised Messiah. Mary was willing to do what God wanted her to do, but she wondered how it could be true. She said to the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” Humanly speaking, what the angel said was impossible. Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elisabeth who had been barren was now expecting a child in her old age. Then the angel said, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Gabriel was explaining to Mary that God was already doing things that no one thought possible, and that she needed to believe that He would do as promised. He is the God of the impossible.

We have to believe that God can do the impossible in order to be saved. We are sinners with no hope of ever ridding ourselves of our sin; but Jesus did the impossible by coming to this earth, living a sinless life, dying on the cross to pay for our sins, and rising again from the grave to show that He had the power to free us from our sins. It requires faith to believe that God can do the impossible.

God not only wants us to understand that He can do anything, He wants us to believe that He will do exactly as He has promised in His Word.

“And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5:10-12

The people of Israel had been eating the manna that fell from heaven every day for forty years. After they crossed the Jordan River, they celebrated the Passover and began preparing themselves for battle against the inhabitants of the land. Canaan was described as a land “flowing with milk and honey.” When they had wandered in the wilderness, there was no natural source of food. Now they found themselves moving into a land of plenty, and they no longer needed the manna from heaven. It is interesting to note that the very next day the manna ceased.

God knows exactly what we need, and He knows how long we need it. God did not send the manna for the Israelites to make their lives easy; He sent the manna because the only way they could be sustained was by miraculous means. Sometimes we want manna when there is a harvest to reap. We must not expect miraculous provision when God has work for us to do.

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua 1:8

This passage of scripture is used often because of the promise of success that God gave to Joshua at the end of the verse. We all want to be prosperous; we all have the desire to be successful. God told Joshua that he would experience success in leading the people if he would do three things with the book of the law: talk about it, think about it, and act upon it. Joshua would never have been able to do these three things if he did not read God’s law. He had to become familiar with it and understand it before he could completely obey it and effectively share it with others.

How well do we know the Bible? Have we read it enough to become familiar with it? Is our desire to understand it great enough that it causes us to think about it often? As we learn more about what the Bible says and we begin to understand its meanings more clearly, we will be more likely to talk to other people about what we have learned. When was the last time you had a conversation with someone about the Bible? Talking about the Bible sharpens our minds and strengthens our testimonies. The more we talk about the Bible, the more we will be encouraged to obey it.

“Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.” Mark 15:31

When Jesus was crucified, there were people who gathered around the cross to watch Him die. The chief priests (who had arrested Him, turned Him over to the Romans, and demanded that He be crucified) were there mocking Him. They were completely wrong about Jesus. They thought that He was an imposter. They believed that the Messiah was going to set up His new kingdom immediately after He came to earth; and since Jesus had made no attempt to fight against the Romans, they believed that He was nothing more than a heretic spreading false doctrine. They could not have been more mistaken about Jesus, but there was a powerful spiritual truth in the statement they made in the verse above. “He saved others; himself he cannot save.” As they mocked Jesus for not saving Himself, they inadvertently pointed out the secret of Jesus’ mission here on earth and the secret that all who would follow in His steps must learn. Jesus had the power to save himself, but He chose not to. If He were to save Himself, He could not save others; and saving others was what He came to do. If He wanted to save us, He could not save Himself. The same could be said for every disciple of Christ. If we are going to make a difference in the lives of others, we cannot focus on our own needs and wants.

“For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” Deuteronomy 30:11-14

Moses is making his final appeal to the people to obey the law of God. Moses had been frustrated with the people many times because of their unwillingness to follow God. He had heard them complain for forty years. After they crossed the Red Sea, they thought that they would die in the wilderness. When God gave them manna, they wanted meat. When God spoke to them audibly from Mount Sinai, they said that they would rather God speak to Moses. They promised to do whatever Moses told them; but when Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments, they were worshipping a golden calf. When the people had the opportunity to go into the Promised Land at Kadesh-barnea, they turned back in fear. Moses is pleading with them to obey God’s law, and he tells the people that it should now be easy for them to obey. They don’t have to climb a mountain or cross a sea in order to find out what God wants them to do. His Word was very close to them; it was in their mouths and in their hearts. Most of us have a copy of God’s Word, but do we keep it near to us or far away?

“Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Deuteronomy 25:13-15

It was not uncommon for people in Bible days to have two different sets of scales or measures: one that they used to buy things, and one that they used to sell things. They would use the scale that weighed lighter than the standard weight when they were buying things and the scale that weighed heavier than standard when they were selling. The lighter weight allowed them to pay less than the price they agreed to, and the heavier weight allowed them to charge more. God commanded His people not to do this. He wanted them to be fair with each other. This command was linked to an important promise. God said that He would give them length of days in the Promised Land if they would use one standard scale that allowed them to be fair with each other. Our exchange of currencies and systems of weighing products are much more standardized now, but the temptation to cut corners and take advantage of others still presents itself to us. Do you treat others fairly? For example, if you were selling a vehicle that had a mechanical problem, would you disclose that to the buyer? God wants us to treat each other as we would want to be treated. Let’s be sure that we always use a “perfect weight.”

“And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?” Mark 14:3-4

In John chapter 11, we learn that this woman was Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Not long before this meal took place, Jesus had raised her brother from the dead. Mary was obviously grateful, and that alone would have been reason enough for her to want to do something special for Jesus. The Lord had already told His disciples plainly that He was going to be killed and that He would rise again from the dead. The disciples never seemed to comprehend Jesus’ words regarding His imminent death, but Mary had been listening and she wanted to do something about it. When Mary was rebuked for wasting such a valuable treasure, Jesus said that Mary was anointing Him beforehand in preparation for His death.

Often in the Bible our prayers are likened to incense, a pleasant aroma to God. He enjoys hearing us pray. But prayer requires effort. Most Christians struggle to find time to pray. Some fail to pray because they don’t believe it is worth the effort. Is prayer a waste of time? Jesus didn’t think so. He was obviously pleased with what Mary did, and He said that her deeds would always be spoken of as a testimony to her devotion.

“For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:34-37

Jesus likened Himself to a man who was preparing to go on a long journey. The man knew he would be gone for a long period of time, so he assigned responsibilities to each of his subordinates and charged them to always be ready for his return. Jesus wanted the disciples to think about what it would be like to be left in charge of someone else’s household for an undetermined amount of time. He knew that He was going back to heaven after His death, burial, and resurrection, and they needed to take responsibility for sharing the Gospel with the world. Jesus told His disciples that they needed to watch and to always be ready for His return, and then He included everyone. “And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.” Jesus’ words to His disciples can be applied to every Christian alive today. It has been many years since Jesus gave this command to all of His followers; but, as time goes by, it becomes even more important for us to be ready for His return. We need to be working, we need to be managing our areas of responsibility, and we need to be awake. Are you ready? He may come today!

“And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.” Deuteronomy 17:18-20

God sent Moses to lead the people of Israel, and he led them by telling them what God said; but God knew that one day the Israelites would have a king. That king would be chosen by the people from among the people, or he would inherit the throne from his father who was king before him. God knew that there would be good kings and bad kings, some wise and some foolish. The Lord set forth guidelines for what a king should and should not do. God said that the king should have his own personal copy of the law and that he should read from it every day. In essence, this meant that the king would have a copy of all of the Bible that had been written up to that point, and the Lord wanted him to read from it every day. God said that it would keep him humble, keep him right, and prolong his days. We may not be kings, but we are all leaders in some way. As leaders, we need to read God’s Word each day. Reading the Bible enables us to treat people right and make good decisions.

“And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12:32-33

The Bible has a lot to say about offerings and sacrifices. When someone is willing to give to the Lord, it tells us a lot about their values and their character. If we take money or possessions that we could use to buy or trade for things that we want and give them to God, we are making a sacrifice. When we see this kind of sacrifice in others, we tend to equate it with spirituality, but the scribe in the passage above understood that there is more to evaluating our spiritual condition than what we can see on the surface. Sacrifice can certainly be an indicator of our spirituality, as we can see with the widow who gave her last two mites; but it is also something that we can do for an outward show or as a way to bargain with God. When King Saul gave the excuse for sparing the best of the animals that had belonged to the Amalekites instead of destroying them as God had commanded, the prophet Samuel answered, “To obey is better than sacrifice,” (I Samuel 15:22). It is true that the Lord loves a cheerful giver (II Corinthians 9:7), but what He wants most is our love and obedience. Do you love God with all your heart? Are you obeying His Word? These are the most important tests of our relationship with Him.