Josh’s Thoughts

This blog has moved to http://www.jspiers.org. I will no longer be updating it here. Please update your bookmarks. All of the old posts have been moved to www.jspiers.org, and they are available as well. There is also lots of new content. God bless!

A few days ago my aunt sent me an email a which contained the 10 images that astronomers voted were the best taken in the past 16 years by the Hubble Telescope. I just got around to reading the email tonight, and I have to say that I was simply amazed. I have always loved looking at the stars, and I have spent quite a bit of time browsing through pictures taken by the Hubble Telescope and other telescopes, but these were some of the most amazing pictures I have ever seen.

The first thing that I did was to get on-line and make sure that the email was legit. We all know that many (if not most) of the emails that get forwarded around have only a little truth in them. It just so happens, though, that the images contained in this email are legitimate. Not only are they legitimate Hubble pictures, but they were in fact selected as the top 10 pictures from the last 16 years.

So once I verified the pictures I started thinking about Psalm 19, which starts off by saying:

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.

They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
– Psalm 19:1-4

Who has never looked up at a night sky and stood in awe of the glory of God? I have to say that I feel sorry for the atheist or agnostic who looks into the night sky and asks, "Is this all there is?" I look into the night sky and stand in awe of the Creator who formed it. I look into the sky and am amazed that the One who could create such beauty would humble Himself and initiate a relationship with me.

Have you ever heard the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words"? Well, such is the case here. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words. I could keep typing words describing the night sky. But why should I bother? Instead, I will just share the pictures, with a prayer that you will fill the same amazement that I do when you look at them, and that you will stand in awe of God’s craftsmanship.

(Click on the images for a larger view.)

The Sombrero Galaxy

The Ant Nebula
 

Nebula NGC 2392 (a.k.a. "Eskimo")

Cat’s Eye Nebula

Hourglass Nebula

Cone Nebula

The Perfect Storm

Starry Night

Two merging galaxies (NGC 2207 & IC 2163)

Trifid Nebula (a birthplace for new stars)

Sometimes God just catches me by surprise. Right now I am sitting in my favorite hang out spot (CrossRoads Coffee), and I decided to do some school before bed. I reached into my backpack to get my textbook and I felt my Bible in there. That reminded me that I had not read my Bible yet today, so I decided to do that before school. After all, as a theology major my schooling is all about the Bible, so it only makes sense to actually read it, right?

So I opened up my Bible to 2nd Peter, which is the book that I have been studying recently, and I started reading. Near the end of the first chapter a verse caught my attention in a way that it never has before, and I was surprised–surprised by joy. (To all you C.S. Lewis fans: Yes, I am unashamedly ripping off one of his titles.)

The verse that caught my attention was verse 19, which says:

So we have the prophetic word strongly confirmed. You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dismal place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

I have read this verse many times before, but tonight I was reading from a different translation than the one that I normally use, and I really like the way it translates this verse; especially the part that says "as to a lamp shining in a dismal place."

Let me ask: What do you think of when you think of a dismal place? The first thing that comes to my mind is a gloomy Roman prison, since Peter spent a lot of time in places like that. The next thing that I thought of was being alone and lost in a dark, misty forest, with nothing but a small light, waiting for the Sun to rise so that I can find my way home again. I spent a lot of time camping in the Northern Woods when I lived in Maine, and I know what it’s like to have nothing but a small flashlight or campfire and to be surrounded by miles upon miles of empty forest. It’s simultaneously a beautiful experience and a humbling one.

But regardless of what you think of when you think of a dismal place, the imagery that Peter uses has the same effect. I think we all can think of a place spiritually and emotionally that is dismal, and we feel that we have just a small flicker of hope left in us as we patiently wait for Christ to deliver us. I don’t like to go outside the Word of God and speculate, but I wonder if Peter was remembering what it felt like to be a Jew waiting for the Messiah. The reason that I say that is because his words in verse 19–"a lamp shining in a dismal place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts"–sounds a lot like the words of Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father), when he prophesied of Christ:

"Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high will visit us
to shine on those who live in darkness
and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Zechariah’s prophecy has always been my favorite prophecy about the Messiah because I just love the imagery. I love the idea of sitting in a dark place patiently waiting for the Sun to rise. It makes the Sun all that more beautiful when it comes.

But the Sun that Peter and Zechariah were talking about was not a physical Sun, but a spiritual Son–the Son of God. I don’t think that the imagery needs any explaining. However, going back to Peter, I do know that Peter knew what it was like to wait for the Messiah, not knowing when He would arrive. But then one day…the Son entered His life–the Dawn from on high visited Him.

I think that the message that Zechariah and Peter had about the Messiah still applies to us today. Our God is a God of hope; He is not One to forsake His sheep. We all spend times spiritually, emotionally, and physically in "dismal" places, but we can rest assured that our God never forsakes us.

Well, I would love to write more on this subject, but CrossRoads is closing, so I must bring this to a close. It’s probably good that I end it now, because I could write a novel about hope. Maybe I will one day. Until then, I pray that if you are in a dismal place then you will wait patiently on God. Rest assured, the Son will rise in your life

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)

Before a person can apply the four steps that Dr. Habermas gives and to being to possess the “peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension” (Php. 4:7) they must understand one thing: Everything works together for the good of those who love God.

Allow me to repeat that: Everything…everything!…works together for good to those who love God!

It was this understanding that allowed me to finally overcome worry and to have peace in my life, and I am convinced that understanding this concept can bring peace to anyone who is a follower of Christ. This is an important concept that must be grasped before a person can begin to possess the peace of God.

However, there is one major problem that people have with this concept: It requires that we place are trust unequivocally, with no reservation, in God and in His plan for our lives. It means that we learn to completely turn over our wants and desires, our hopes and our dreams, to Him with the understanding that He knows what is best for our lives. And I think that this is where most people have the problem.

I think that the reason people have such a problem with trusting God is because we do not understand that what God wants to do in our lives is so much better than anything that we can imagine. And because we fail to understand that God really, truly does want to do what is best for us, we worry constantly over things that happen in our lives. Or, rather, we worry over things that might happen in our lives. We worry about the “what-ifs.”

Because of this, we often end up fighting God every step of the way when He is trying to bring us to a place in Him that is so much better than anything we ever could have imagined!

One thing that helped me learn to trust God completely was understanding that we humans are all looking for fulfillment. We all have an emptiness inside of us that we long to be filled. The Christian band Audio Adrenaline called it a “God-shaped Hole,” and I think that is exactly what it is. The problem is that many of us do not realize that true fulfillment can only from God, so we look for it in other places. (Please understand that I am talking to Christians here, not to non-Christians. We Christians are just as guilty as the non-Christians in refusing to seek for our fulfillment in Christ and Christ alone.)

Instead of seeking fulfillment in Christ we seek for fulfillment in the opinions of others, in boyfriends and girlfriends, in imagined intimacy, in materialism, in thrills and experiences, all the while failing to realize that anything that this Earth can provide is ultimate emptiness when compared to the fulfillment that can come through Christ. It is not that any of these things are wrong or that God does not want us to have these things, it is only that these things can never bring true fulfillment. They must “play second fiddle” to Christ if a person ever wants to have true peace and fulfillment.

See, this is the position that I was in for 27 years, so I am speaking from personal experience. I was raised in a Christian family and I was truly saved (what I am talking about in this blog has nothing to do with salvation), but yet I did not seek my fulfillment in Christ alone. Why? Because I was afraid to trust Christ completely.

So instead of giving everything over to Christ I tried to hold on to things. I tried to hold on to my dreams and plans and hopes instead of giving them over to Christ.

But sometime in April or May of this year it clicked with me that I needed to understand one thing: All things work together for good to those who love God.

It was when this understanding finally struck me that I realized that God only wants what is best for us. His goal is not to destroy our hope. No, He is the giver of hope. If we give our lives completely over to Him and seek our fulfillment in Him then we will find the only true fulfillment.

I guess that’s why Jesus said that if a person wants to find life then they have to lose it (Mat. 10:39; 16:25).

In the next four blog posts I am going to give the steps that Dr. Habermas gave for “applying theology to our emotions” and finding peace. The reason that I had to write this post first is because Dr. Habermas’ steps are based on a person completely and totally trusting God for everything. The only way that a person can do that is to understand that God causes everything to work together for good.

Let me ask you: Are you seeking your fulfillment in Christ and in Christ alone, or are you hanging on to parts of your life, afraid to give them up? If so, I encourage you to give everything over to God right here and right now. Please let me say that a person will never feel like doing this! No human in their right mind will ever feel like giving up control of their lives! It is something that can only be done through an act of will. But possessing the knowledge that God causes everything to work together for good will give you the strength that you need to give everything over to Christ.

And when you do that you will begin to experience true fulfillment and you will begin to experience the peace that passes all comprehension.

I know, because it happened to me.

Ever noticed how hard it is to focus on something? To really, truly focus? If you’ve ever tried meditating then let me tell you…it ain’t easy. It’s really, really hard to focus on something to the exclusion of everything else. Really hard.

I was thinking about this today in relation to my spiritual walk. I was thinking about the Scripture that says, “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end” (Hebrews 12:2). One Bible translation puts it this way:

[Let us look] with undivided attention to the Originator and Perfector of our faith–Jesus…

Obviously we can’t fix our physical eyes on Jesus anymore, so the author is talking about placing our focus spiritually on Jesus. But He’s not just saying to focus on Jesus spiritually, He’s saying to focus on Him to the exclusion of everything else.

Man, that’s hard.

It seems that I always have time to do the things that really matter to me. When it comes time to hang out with friends or to read a book or just do some relaxing I can always find time, no matter how busy I am. But it seems that whenever I want to do something to improve my spiritual life–whether it be praying, reading my Bible, or meditating on the things of God–something always comes up.

Weird how that happens.

Now I do believe in spiritual warfare, and I believe that there are evil spirits (the Bible calls them demons or devils) that try to interfere with my walk with Christ. But if I am willing to be brutally honest with myself then I am forced to admit that I can’t blame it all on that! I’m forced to confess that a lot of it just comes down to where I’ve placed my priorities.

During this last week I’ve been examining my spiritual life over the last few months and I realize that I have a lot of work that I need to do. I haven’t been placing my undivided attention on Jesus. Oh it’s not like I’ve been out doing things I shouldn’t do. I’ve even been reading my Bible and praying. But I’ve allowed my priorities to get out of whack to the extent that in the last couple of months there have been whole days that I have gone without spending time with God and with His Word.

So why am I sharing this on my blog? I guess just because I want to challenge people to investigate their priorities. I want to challenge Christians to see if they are really “looking with undivided attention to…Jesus.” And I’m not asking anyone to do anything that I’m not willing to do, because I have determined this week that I am going to reorganize my priorities to make sure that Jesus always comes first. It’s not an easy task, but I do believe that it’s one worth doing.

And I’ll make you a deal: If you pray for me while I reorganize my priorities then I’ll pray for you while you organize yours. If you want a prayer partner just let me know.

God bless!

Anyone who reads my blogs knows that Delirious? is one of my favorite bands. This morning I was listening to one of their songs titled “Every Little Thing (Is Gonna Be Alright),” and I started thinking about the words. More specifically, I started thinking about the word little.

As Christians we usually understand that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Rom. 8:28). The problem is that we all too often think of this in a big scale. At least I do. What I mean is that I often trust God to handle the big issues; the major things. When a car breaks down and I am left without transportation, I trust God to work the situation out for the best. When a disease flares up or an unexpected bill arrives in the mail, I trust that God will sort everything out for the best. But as I was listening to the song “Every Little Thing” this morning I started to think about how God wants to take care of the little things in our lives–not just the big things.

As I started to meditate on this I was reminded of the Scripture passage in Matthew 6:25-31 where Jesus says:

“So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life–whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. “And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! “So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (NLT).

I think that the point Jesus is making is obvious: He cares about taking care of the little things in our lives. He came to not just give us life, but to give it to us “in all its fullness” (John 10:10).

I just find it so awe-inspring that the God of the entire universe–the Creator and sustainer of all things–cares enough about us that He is willing to take care of us “from day to day.” In another place Jesus said that He sees every time that a sparrow falls to the ground, and that we are much more important to Him than the sparrows (Mat. 10:29-31). The implication here is clear: God cares about every detail of our lives!

There is one more point that I should make before I complete this post, though. Jesus did come to give us life “in all its fullness,” but we humans often look for fulfillment in the wrong places. Many people read about the fulfillment that Christ offers, and they begin to ask God for the things that they think will fulfill them. Some people ask for things, others for relationships, others for money, etc. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, but it is crucial that we remember that things will never bring fulfillment. The only thing that will bring true fulfillment is a relationship with Christ. That is why Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and [God] will give you everything you need” (Mat. 6:33).

For many years I made the mistake of seeking fulfillment in the wrong places. I was not living a bad lifestyle, but I was living with the mindset that a different job would bring fulfillment, or a relationship, or friends, or a better vehicle, etc. Again, none of that is bad. As a matter of fact, many of those things were designed by God to contribute to our fulfillment and happiness. The mistake is to think that those things on their own can bring us fulfillment and contentment. It took me years to finally understand that fulfillment only comes through Christ. He understands what we need, and when we make Him and His kingdom our #1 priority then He takes care of everything else, for He cares about every little thing.

Tonight I had an interesting experience. One of the families in my church hosted a traditional Passover dinner. The family is not Jewish, but they wanted to host the dinner to show people how the Passover in the Old Testament relates to Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Most of you reading this blog may be familiar with the Passover, but for those of you who aren’t I will give a brief explanation. When Moses went to Egypt and demanded that they free the Israelites from slavery, the pharaoh would not do it. So God cause 10 separate plagues to come upon the Egyptians. None of the first 9 would cause the pharaoh to let the Israelites go free, so the 10th plague was the worst. In this plague God commanded an angel to go through the nation of Egypt and kill the firstborn male child in every house.

Of course, God wanted to spare the Israelites from this plague of death, so He gave them some special commands. He told them to kill a lamb and smear its blood on the doorposts of their houses. When the angel of death saw the blood it would pass by that house and not kill anyone inside of it. What God wanted to show the Israelites (and us today) is that sin is punishable by death, and that “no sins can be forgiven unless blood is offered” (Heb. 9:22).

This is all very important to us Christians, because we believe that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for sin. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, “There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29). We believe that when Jesus’ blood was shed that He gave us the opportunity to have our sins taken away by placing our faith in Him.

Going back to the Passover dinner, now, there are several questions that Jewish fathers ask their children during the course of the meal. These questions don’t come out of the Bible, they are just tradition. One of the questions is this:

“Why is this night different from every other night?”

The answer that the child gives is:

“Because once we were slaves…and we are slaves no longer.”

This is very important to the Jews, because it represents their freedom from slavery in Egypt. It’s also important to us Christians, because it represents are freedom from slavery to sin and death.

Our Scriptures say that “the payment for sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). They also say that everyone has sinned (Rom. 3:23). We believe that when Jesus came to earth and died He paid the price for our sin. Now if a person places their faith in Him (Rom. 10:9-11) then that person can be saved from the payment for sin and they can experience eternal life.

I was thinking about all of this when I was eating the Passover meal. I was also thinking about how the Scriptures call Jesus the “Sunrise from on high” (Luke 1:78). I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a sunrise, but it is a beautiful thing to experience. I remember that one time I went up to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine for sunrise. It’s the first place in the United States to see the sun rise. I remember the experience of seeing the sun come up over the horizon, and how everything turned from gray to beautiful light.

And that’s the way that the Scriptures describe Jesus. Except, of course, they’re talking about a spiritual sunrise, not an earthly one.

So when I was eating the Passover dinner and the question was read–”Why is this night different from every other night?”–and the answer was read–”Because once we were slaves, and we are slaves no longer”–I thought of it in the context of being free from the power of death.

Some people view Christ as a good moral teacher, others as a prophet, and others as a philosopher or spiritual guide. But I view Christ as so much more than that. He’s not just a prophet, teacher, or guide to me. He is God become flesh (Mat. 1:23).

I view Him as the “Sunrise from on high” because He has done so much in my life. He’s not just something or someone that I choose to believe in. No, He has done great things in my life. He’s never turned water into wine for me (then again, I’ve never asked Him to), but I have seen His hand all throughout my life. I have had prayers answered, been healed of sickness, and become such a better person through following Christ.

I guess tonight I could ask a question kind of like the one asked during the Passover dinner, but slightly different. I could ask:

“What makes Christianity so different?”

After all, many other religions make the claims that Christianity makes. Many other religions claim to have the ultimate revelation of truth. Some claim that their religion is the only way to God (like Christianity does) and others claim that all religions are like different paths that take us to the same place (many Eastern religions teach this). So what makes Christianity different?

Well, there are lots of things that make Christianity different. There are lots of reasons that I am a Christian. Let’s just say that I am a Christian because I believe Christianity to be true, I do not believe that Christianity is true because I am a Christian.

In other words, I’m not a Christian because I was raised Christian, or because I was raised southern, middle-class white American, and going to church on Sunday is just what I do. No, I am a Christian because I have examined the evidence and I believe that Christianity is true. I do not believe that Christ is just a path to God, I believe that He is the path to God.

Of course, some might read this blog and disagree with me. That’s fine, I respect other people’s views (anyone who knows me well knows that I don’t attack people over their views). However, if you’re reading this and you disagree with me that Christianity is the only path to God, then I offer you this challenge: Examine the evidence for yourself and show me why I’m wrong!

I don’t offer that challenge because I like to debate. I offer that challenge because if I’m wrong then I want to know. After all, we’re talking about a subject with eternal consequences here! If I’m wrong then I want to know, and I would hope that anyone reading this blog would feel the same way, no matter what their religion is.

If you are interested in finding out what makes Christianity different than other religions, and why I am a Christian, then I can offer a couple of places to start searching.

First, you can ask me . I’ll always be happy to tell you.

Another thing that you can do is check out these two Web sites:

1. http://www.garyhabermas.com/
2. http://www.leestrobel.com/

Dr. Gary Habermas was raised in a Christian family, and he is a Christian again now, but he was a skeptic for over 10 years. He examined different world religions searching for truth. Christianity was eventually the religion that He returned to, because He was convinced from the evidence that it was true.

Lee Strobel was an atheist for most of his life. He eventually set out to research Christianity, and he ended up becoming a Christian.

I picked these two Web sites for a couple of reasons. First, both of these men were skeptics and/or atheists for much of their life. They are Christians now because they are convinced that Christianity is true. Also, they both have a lot of free resources available on their Web sites. They both have some excellent videos that you can watch for free.

Lee Strobel also wrote three very famous books: The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator. If you live here in Spartanburg then you can find all three of these books in the local Spartanburg county library.

If you’re going to start researching Christianity, then I recommend going to the two Web sites that I’ve listed above and watching some of their videos on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s a great place to start…especially since it’s Easter time! Another reason why it’s a good place to start is because if the resurrection is true then it says a lot for Christianity, because no man can rise from the dead on his own. If the resurrection is false, then even the Bible says that Christianity is “worthless” (1 Cor. 15:17)!

Well, it’s past my bed time, so I guess I’ll go ahead and post this blog. Whatever your religious beliefs, I hope that this blog has given you, the reader, something to think about! God bless you all, and have a happy Easter!

Ok, so I should be working on a couple of papers for school right now, but I feel like blogging instead. Before I get going, though, I should mention why I haven’t written any blogs in several weeks. The reason is not that I’ve given up on blogging, or that I’ve been too busy, or anything like that. No, it’s just that I’ve been going through one of those “learning phases” that God occasionally puts us through. I’ve had a lot on my mind, and my thoughts have been really scattered. So this blog isn’t dead, or anything like that, I just needed some time to work through some things and get my thoughts back on track.

Oh yeah, and I upgraded my computer to the new Vista operating system (which took several days), and I worked 80 hours in 6 days, so that had something to do with it too

Now that all of that’s cleared up I’m going to go ahead and share what’s on my mind tonight.

During the last few weeks I’ve been listening to the song “Miracle Maker” by the Christian band Delirious?. (No, that’s not a typo, their name ends with a question mark.) The song “Miracle Maker” is based on one of the miracles that Jesus performed. The miracle is recorded by John, and I’ll quote the text, and then write a little bit about it.

John 5:2-3; 5-9 ESV
(2) Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
(3) In these lay a multitude of invalids–blind, lame, and paralyzed.
…
(5) One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
(7) The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
(8) Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

There are a lot of things that I really like about this story. On the surface it looks so simple, but there is a lot of depth to it. I’m not going to go into every reason that I like this miracle, but I will make a few points.

The first thing that I like about this miracle is the fact that the man Jesus healed had been “an invalid for thirty-eight years.” Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I put a lot of stock in hope. If a person has hope then they can make it through anything, no matter how rough it might be. When I read this miracle I can’t help but wonder, “How many times did the man that Jesus healed almost give up hope?” We don’t know the answer to that question, but we do know that after thirty-eight years he was still hoping for a miracle.

Another thing we know is that he wanted to be healed. I find it fascinating that Jesus walks up and asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” At first glance that seems like a really, really dumb question! The guy’s been an invalid for thirty-eight years! Of course he wants to be healed!

Or does he?

Notice that there’s no record of Jesus healing anyone else there that day, even though the Bible says that there was a “multitude of invalids” there. I don’t want to speculate too much, but I find it hard to believe that this was the only invalid that Jesus was willing to heal. Did Jesus ask others if they wanted to be healed, and they said no? Did they laugh Him off, or shrug off the question? Did they make a joke out of it? Who knows?!

What we do know is that change is uncomfortable. It’s a step into the unknown. Sometimes it seems better to stay in a miserable situation, if stepping out of that miserable situation could cause us even greater misery! Put another way, it might be easier to give up hope than to say, “Yes, Jesus, I want to be healed,” knowing (from the invalid’s point of view) that Jesus might not do it. Sometimes it’s easier to just bury hope and give up.

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and I don’t care to go back.

Another possible reason that an invalid might not want to be healed is because it would bring about a complete change of life for them. After all, if you’re an invalid, then someone has to take care of you. The Jewish Law required that people give you “alms.” Being an invalid is certainly a horrible life, but what if you’re healed? What happens to you then? Then there’s all the worries and fears about finding a profession, making a living, etc.

The reason that I say all of this is because we don’t know about all of the other invalids that were there that day, but we do know that there was this one–a guy who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years–who refused to give up hope. He waited patiently by a pool, hoping that an angel would stir up the waters of the pool so that he could be healed. In addition to all of that, the legend said that only one person could be healed, and this invalid was hoping against hope that somehow he could be the first one in the pool when the angel stirred the waters! Talk about hope!

So, to recap, one of the reasons that I like this miracle is because the guy who was healed refused to give up hope. Even after thirty-eight years he was still hoping against hope that something would change.

Then one day Jesus walked by.

That’s worth stopping and thinking about.

Another thing that I love about this miracle is the way that Jesus healed the invalid. Look carefully at these Scriptures again, and notice what Jesus did not say:

John 5:6-9 ESV
(6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”
(7) The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
(8) Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”
(9) And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

What Jesus did not do was heal the guy of whatever problem afflicted him.

Think about that for a moment, because it’s such a powerful point.

We don’t know what caused this guy to be an invalid, but we do know that it probably was not something that afflicted him from birth. The Bible doesn’t say that he was an invalid from birth, it says that he was an invalid for thirty-eight years. This implies that at one point the guy was not an invalid.

So what happened to cause him to become crippled? The Bible doesn’t say. Was he a roof maker who fell and broke his neck? Was he a child who was dropped by his parents and suffered damage to his spine? Was he beaten and abused when he was young? We don’t know. We don’t know if it was spinal injury or injury to his legs that caused him to be unable to walk. It could have even been other things.

So I find it fascinating that Jesus didn’t heal the guy of whatever caused his problem in the first place. He just commanded him to get up, pick up his bedding, and walk. As soon as Jesus commanded the man to do these three things, this is what happened:

1. The man was healed of whatever caused him to be an invalid.
2. The man’s legs received strength. The muscles must have been atrophied after thirty-eight years.
3. If the man’s upper body was paralyzed then he received strength there as well, so that he was able to pick up his bedding.
4. Any lost motor skills were regained.

But did Jesus command all of this to happen? No! He just commanded the guy to get up and walk. As soon as Jesus gave the command, reality changed to make the command happen!

Let me say that again: Reality warped itself around the words of Jesus.

Now you might think that’s really cool (like I do), or you might think I’m making a big deal out of nothing. Here’s my point, though: Jesus completely changed reality, and He did it immediately. There were no fireworks going off in the sky; Jesus didn’t have the disciples hold the guy up so that He could blow on him and knock him down again (like certain faith healers like to do). Jesus didn’t even do anything really cool, like make a spit ball out of mud or walk on the waters of the pool, or anything like that. As a matter of fact, Jesus didn’t even touch the guy who was lame!

One moment the sun is shining, then Jesus spoke…and the sun was still shining.

One moment the wind was blowing through the trees, then Jesus spoke…and the wind was still blowing through the trees.

One moment a bird was singing and people were walking around and talking, then Jesus spoke…and a bird was still singing and people were still walking around and talking.

Thunder didn’t roar, lightning didn’t fall from the sky.

But, in one moment, everything changed for the man who was lame. Jesus spoke one sentence, and in doing so He changed a person’s life forever.

A lame man was given the ability to walk, and the Life-bringer brought hope.

The reason that I say all of that is to say this: Jesus never seems to do things in the way that we would expect Him to do it.

If I were God in the flesh, then I would be tempted to at least put on a good fireworks display and let everyone know that I had just healed this guy. That would have been cool. Or I might have let everyone know just how bad this guy’s injury was, and just how complicated a problem it was medically, so that they would all know how powerful I was when I healed him.

But Jesus didn’t do anything of that. He just asked the guy if He wanted to be healed, the guy said yes, and Jesus changed reality to make it happen.

Thirty-eight years of waiting…thirty-eight years of never giving up hope…and then Jesus showed up.

So let me ask you: What is it that you are hoping for? What is it that you need changed in your life? I’m not talking about getting a six-figure salary, or anything like that (if that’s your priority then you’ve got your priorities in the wrong place). But what is it that you need from God?

Is it peace? Hope? Deliverance? Faith? Belief?

Whatever it is, Jesus still walks by today and He asks the question, “Do you want to be healed?” That puts the ball in our court.

Change is never comfortable. A lot of times it puts us in really difficult, uncomfortable situations. (As a matter of fact, if you read the rest of John 5 then you see that the guy Jesus healed got in trouble for carrying his bed around on the Sabbath.)

Not only is change uncomfortable, but sometimes we don’t really want to get what we’re asking for. I’m reminded of the words of St. Augustine’s famous prayer for chastity: “Oh Lord, make me chaste, but please don’t do it just yet” [1]. When St. Augustine wrote that he was recounting his earlier life, before he fully converted to Christianity, and it is quite humorous. How many times do we do the same thing, though? How many times do we pray for things that we don’t really want? How many times do we pray for the strength to “take up our cross,” all the while praying that God will never answer our prayer? After all, taking up our cross is just so darn hard sometimes!!

Anyway, I had all of this on my mind tonight, and I don’t really know why. I wasn’t planning on writing this blog until 1 hour and 8 minutes ago when I started

Maybe it’ll speak to someone, though.

Let me summarize everything:

• Our God is a God of hope. Even if you’ve been waiting for something for a long, long time, don’t give up hope. Stay focused on God, keep delighting in Him, and remain faithful (Ps. 37:4-5). Remember that He always desires the best for His children. He “causes all things to work together for good” (Rom. 8:28).
• God never does things the way that we expect Him to do it. I think He just likes to amaze us. He’s such a show-off! Being all powerful must be really fun. (Personally, I’d have a blast if I was all powerful…it would totally rock…I can think of all kinds of stuff I’d like to do.)
• Be willing to embrace change, even if it’s uncomfortable. Be willing to face the unknown. When hope comes your way, be willing to embrace the opportunity. God will never forsake you (Ps. 37:25), and He always wants what is best for His children (Mat. 7:11).

Finally, I said at the start of this blog that I have been listening to the song “Miracle Maker” a lot lately. I am going to conclude this post by quoting the lyrics of the song. You can also go to www.napster.com and listen to the song on-line for free if you’d like to. Just follow their instructions for creating a free account.

As you read the lyrics, or listen to the song, imagine yourself in the place of the invalid; lying on the ground for thirty-eight years, waiting for something to change. That’s where this song starts off, and it’s just so powerful. I can’t get enough of it!

Miracle Maker

I’m waiting here for my life to change,
When the waters stir you can rearrange me.
Just one touch is all I need,
I’ve nothing much but the wounds I feel,
I’m looking for the hand of the miracle man.

Holy, you are holy,
Who was and is and is to come.
Holy, you are holy, Saviour, Healer,
I’m standing at the feet of the miracle maker.

I’m holding on, with your life in mine,
Living water’s come,
And you’ve rearranged me.

Holy you are holy,
Who was and is and is to come.
Holy, you are holy,
Saviour, healer,
I’m staring in the face of the miracle maker.

Holy, you are holy,
Who was and is and is to come.
Jesus, precious Jesus,
Thank you, Saviour,
I’m walking in the shoes of my miracle maker.
I’m standing with the faith of a miracle maker.

Written by Delirious? ©2005 Curious? Music UK

http://www.delirious.org.uk/lyrics/songs/miraclemaker.html

Pro 3:5-6 GW
(5) Trust the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
(6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths smooth.

Yesterday morning I woke up thinking about the need for Divine guidance. As I was still laying in bed, I realized that lately I have been not putting my trust in God in the way that I should. I realized that I have been worrying over things that I should be leaving up to God to solve.

I got out of bed and pulled up my Bible study software, and I started looking up some Scriptures on guidance. Proverbs 3:5-6 was the first one that I turned to, and I noticed something about it that I had never noticed before. See, I have always thought of Proverbs 3:5-6 as a guidance Scripture, and in a way it is. What it actually says, though, is that if we put our trust completely in God then He will make our paths smooth.

I spent some time thinking about that, and I realized that there is a difference between God guiding us and God making our paths smooth. Of course God does indeed guide us–that theme is repeated over and over throughout Scripture–but, according to Proverbs 3:5-6, He also makes our paths smooth.

As I meditated on this I started thinking about how there are so many things in our life that could be so difficult, but it seems that God just smooths out the paths. For instance, when I moved into my new apartment I was worrying about all of the things that could go wrong. I had to get the gas turned on, had to get Internet service, electricity, had to move, and also had to do all of the other miscellaneous things that moving involves. I was so worried about everything that could go wrong, but when I look back on it I see how it went so smoothly! God truly smoothed out my path.

That’s a small example, but I can think of big examples as well. It’s not that everything’s all a bed of roses since I’m a Christian, it’s just that I know that I have a God who cares about me personally, and He cares about making my ways smooth. He not only directs me along the right paths, but He smooths them over for me as well.

I could give example after example of how God has done this for me, but I think that I’ve said enough. I am just so incredibly thankful to God that He cares about me enough to smooth over the small areas in my life, as well as the big ones.

Thinking about all of this built up my faith, because I realize that if God will do this for the little things, then He will certainly do it for the big things as well!