Thou Man of Valor

Thou Man of Valor

Judges 6: 11 - 16
11 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
16 And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

   Gideon called it:  he was of a small clan and his family was small.  In other words, God should not expect a mighty army to come up from this clan.  Except that God rarely uses mighty armies to do His work.   God does not want mighty armies, He wants yielded vessels.
   He took Gideon and some volunteers and then eliminated most of them and left Gideon with only 300 men.  The Midianites were numerous; the Bible says they and their camels were without number.  So how could Gideon and his 300 men be expected to win?  In human terms, they were doomed to failure.  The Midianites would hardly even notice a little pin-prick like 300 men attacking.  But God had it all planned out and He doesn’t work like we think He should work.  His plans are different than our plans are.  Gideon and his men were thinking, “spears and swords.”  God was thinking, “If the Midianites think a vast army is attacking, they’ll panic and run.”  So He told Gideon to bring torches and trumpets and they caused a panic and the Midianites fled and many were killed in the panic.
   In our lives, we are often called to do work for the Lord.  Indeed, His last words to the crowd just before He ascended back to His Father were:
Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
   He wants us to be witnesses for Him into all the world.  So does that mean I should witness to my neighbors?  Yep, even that annoying one.  Should I be a witness at my work?  Yep, and they will listen better if you actually act like a Christian  all the time – when you’re tired, stressed out, over-worked, grumpy, whatever.  Should I be a witness at my family.  Yep, even though they know you better than anybody and know all those times you didn’t act like a Christian.   Where else should I be a witness?  Look at that verse from Acts again.  Everywhere and to everyone.
   So why me?  I’m a lousy example of being a Christian!  I lose my temper and I doubt and I’m self-conscious and, and, and….  And the Lord said to me, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”  He knows I can do it and He will be with me when I witness and He will help me when I need the help.  And He will not accept any excuses.  I am to be His witness and I need to witness wherever and whenever I can.
   I have tried to be a witness more and found out the more I witness the easier it is to witness.  Who knows, maybe God was right and I really am a “mighty man of valor.”
When you walk closer to God, hard to fail.

Stephen Cram                                                                   

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ. 

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.

The Mysteries if the Kingdom

The Mysteries if the Kingdom

Mark 4: 10-11

10 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 

11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 

   Jesus taught a multitude as He sat in a boat by the shore.  What He taught was the parable of the sower and the seed.  But to the disciples, the spiritual meaning of the parable was not immediately apparent. The disciples didn’t understand what Jesus meant, and they asked Him about the parable.  Jesus will answer the disciples’ question about the parable, but first He wanted to explain to them why He used parables.

   He explained to them that they were given to know the mystery of the kingdom - they could have His parables explained clearly so they would understand what the meaning behind the parable was.  In the Bible, a mystery isn’t something you can’t figure out; it’s something that you would never know unless God revealed it to you. 

   To those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive’.  Parables, in their spiritual function, are more like riddles or puzzles than illustrations. They can be understood by those who have right “key.”  A parable isn’t an illustration.  A good teacher can illustrate by stating a truth, and then illustrating the truth through a story or an analogy.  But when Jesus used parables, He didn’t start by stating a truth.  Instead, the parable was like a doorway.  Jesus’ listeners stood at the doorway and heard Him.  If they were not interested, they stayed on the outside.  But if they were interested, they could walk through the doorway, and think more about the truth behind the parable and what it meant to their life.

   But none of them could understand the spiritual meaning until Jesus explained the key to them: The sower sows the Word - Mark 4:14.  If you miss the key, you miss the whole parable.  If you think the seed represent money, you miss the parable.  If you think the seed represents farming, you miss the parable.  If you think the seed represents hard work, you miss the parable.  You can only understand it by understanding the key: The sower sows the Word – as in the Word of God. 

   By quoting this passage from Isaiah 6:9, Lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them, Jesus explained why He used parables.  In teaching by parables, Jesus offered His hearers the opportunity to dig deep and find the truth, or to turn a deaf ear to a story.  This would avoid a greater condemnation for having rejected a clearly understood truth.  Jesus didn’t use parables to blind people, but because they were already blind.  

   In light of this, how blessed are those who do understand the parables of Jesus.  Not only do they gain the benefit of the spiritual truth illustrated; they also display a measure of responsiveness to the Holy Spirit.  Jesus calls all to come to Him for repentance, but only those who choose to stay and ask and study and dig into His Word will truly understand what He has to say.  Then the seed (the Word) will take root in their hearts and they will grow and produce fruit for the Kingdom.

Stephen Cram                                                                                      June 29, 2014                                                 

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ. 

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.

It’s Impossible!

It’s Impossible!

2 Kings 7: 1&2

1 Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’”

2 So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”

And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

   The Northern Kingdom of Israel, with its capitol at Samaria, was under siege by the Syrian army of Ben-Hadad.  The famine that resulted was so bad people were paying premium prices for donkey’s heads and dove’s poop.  There was no food.  Feeding the people or raising the siege were equally impossible.

    So into this the Prophet Elisha comes to the king and declares that tomorrow food will be sold so cheap it will be below average prices.  The king’s servant scoffs and says that even if God made windows in Heaven how could this be?  There was no food anywhere and so this was labeled, “impossible.” 

   But during the night, God made the Syrians believe another army was attacking them.  They saw nothing but only heard the noise of an attack. They fled so fast they left their tents behind, their weapons behind, their armor behind, even their clothes behind in their panicked flight.  Oh, and they left their food behind.  They had brought enough to sustain them for an extended siege, so there was a lot of food.  So much that that day, just as Elisha had prophesied the price of food dropped so much it was cheaper than average prices from before the siege.  And the king’s advisor got to see the food, but was trampled to death by the hungry people rushing to get to it and never tasted a single mouthful.

   So what is impossible with God?  In a word, Nothing! 

What did God need to perform this miracle?  Nothing. 

What hindered God from performing this miracle?  Nothing.

Does God need help doing a miracle?  No, none.

   And here is a revelation I recently received when praying and meditating on my illness.  What is preventing God from manifesting healing in my life?  I have been saying it’s my own unbelief.  But what I now know is this:  nothing can hinder God from manifesting this miracle in my life – NOT EVEN MY OWN UNBELIEF!  Even I can’t stop God from doing a miracle in my life.  My healing is so close I’m worried I might trip over it before it wells up in my life and consumes this illness. 

   You know that shelf way back in the back of your mind that you place those impossible things on?  That relative or friend who isn’t saved.  T That illness that is ravaging your life.  That habit or addiction that is taking over your life.  That financial pit you can’t climb out of.  Whatever that impossible thing is, go to the shelf and take it down and bring it to God.  What, again?  But it didn’t get answered before.  It’s impossible.  Yes, again.  Tell God it’s impossible but you’re there to ask Him again. 

Stephen Cram                                           June 22, 2014                        

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ. 

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.

Shadows in the Light of Him

Shadows in the Light of Him

Isaiah 53:4-5

4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

   I have been going through the most challenging physical time of my life lately.  As I have fought with weakness, I have turned more and more to prayer.  And as I pray more, I find I want to pray more.  Now to be clear, I am not saying God made me sick to get my attention.  I do not see from the Bible where God would make anyone sick, indeed He has provided healing for us through Jesus.  But as sickness has come upon me and I have sought Him more and more in prayer He has used this time to fill me with more of Himself. 

    There is a chorus that has a line that goes, “when all things that surround us become shadows in the light of Him…”  I can testify to this.  As I have spent time in His Presence and sought His face things in life I considered important have become less important to me and His Presence has become so real to me.  At times in prayer, His Presence is so real to me I feel I can reach out and take His hand. 

   I regret that it took illness to make me focus more on God and His Kingdom, but I praise God that He has chosen to open His Word to me more now than ever.  His love has drawn my heart and filled me with a peace that truly “passeth all understanding.”  I can’t tell you how His peace fills me but I am more at rest in prayer than ever at any time in my life. 

   I have always tried to teach the Bible to the best of my understanding, and now I see how true it is that the Scriptures are all things to all believers at whatever level of growth and understanding you are.  To the immature Christian the Bible is a simple message that speaks to their heart.  And the more you grow in your spiritual life the Bible becomes deeper and filled with more and more meat for you to get nourishment from. 

   Lately I have been drawn to the song, “God is good!  All the time!”  I have always known we serve a good God, but as I draw closer to His Presence I am more convinced with each passing moment just how good God is.

   Please pray for me during this time and remember that God does not cause illness - illness is a result of the sin in the world brought about by the enemy.  Physical illness does come upon our bodies but we also know that God provided healing through Jesus Christ.  I am expecting when all this is over I will be stronger than ever physically as well and spiritually. 

Stephen Cram                                                       June 8, 2014           

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, following the tradition of men according to the rudiments of the world, and not in accordance with Christ. 

Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.