Tag Archives: faith

May 12
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“Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with man is possible with God.'” (Luke 18: 27, NIV)

Make no mistake about it, there are impossibilities in this life.  To act or to say otherwise is to risk doing ourselves, and those who get their cues from us, a great deal of harm. Each day presents its own challenges, and we do well to weigh whether we have the time, the strength, the wisdom, the funds, or the alliances and allegiances to prevail. Doing so brings us to the point where we know, without a doubt, that if we are to succeed in the task before us, it must be “with God.”

Jesus reminds us today (as He did the disciples 2,000 years ago) that where we will utterly fail by ourselves; with God, we can achieve, succeed, and prevail.

The child of God is never — never — in the realm of impossibility when mindful of his/her heavenly Father.  – Luther

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April 24
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“‘Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine [Goliath] will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’ Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you.'” (1 Samuel 17:36-37, NIV)

Today’s scripture encourages us to use our memory of God’s faithfulness to provoke us to trust and faith in our heavenly Father — at all times, and in every circumstance.

David’s faith, confidence, and courage at the great, public, moment of his confrontation with Goliath had as its foundation the lesser, private, moments in his life when God had been equally faithful. God’s power and faithfulness are no less when we’re facing a giant before an audience of thousands, than it is when we were confronting ordinary foes in the wilderness.

When facing a giant (whatever or whomever it might be), recall to mind our heavenly Father’s faithfulness and power in the less public periods of your life. It will give you the faith, the confidence, and the courage you need!  – Luther

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April 17
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“So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the Lord for him.’” (1 Samuel 1:20, NIV)

It is helpful for the disciple of Jesus to remember that between a vision and its fulfillment; between a promise and the delivery of what was promised; is “the course of time.” It is here — like nowhere else — that we are challenged because we often become tired of waiting; or we become frustrated with the pace of fulfillment, the timing of delivery; or we allow something else less worthy to divert our attention, or to curb our enthusiasm.

Hannah’s story began much earlier than what we read in today’s verse: She had been childless for a very long time, and had been praying for a very long time for a son. God had heard Hannah’s prayer and, through Eli the priest, had promised to give her a son. It wasn’t an instantaneous realization of God’s promise; the promise was realized “in the course of time” through something as common as conception, pregnancy, and childbirth.

Be encouraged by the fact that God always desires to work for us, in us, and through us. Do not lose heart when the hours creep or when the days seem never to end.  – Luther

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