I Don't Know Anything About This Book

 She was covered in tattoos. She had dark hair and seemed a little reluctant to be in the room. Someone invited her to our Bible study for 1 Way at the detox center. It did not take long for her to express her fierce anger at people in her family who hurt her. 

That statement inspired the direction of our study for the day. We dug into the scriptures with some familiar faces and and this one new lady. When we gave her a Bible she had no clue where to turn. That is when she said, "I don't know anything about this book." I knew from that statement that she was probably lost in her sins without a saving knowledge of Jesus. One of the other residents gave her the page number and helped her find the chapter and verses we studied. 

Instead of being bored in the study she seemed interested. Clued in. I could see God was working. Softening. Convicting. Drawing. 

When we got to the end of the study my attention turned to this lady we will call Mary even though it is not her real name. I could tell God was stirring Mary. I explained how to be saved and forgiven. Instead of turning a deaf ear she seemed interested. Others in the room who were recently saved encouraged and prayed for her. 

She answered God's call. Jesus gloriously saved Mary this past Sunday. She did not know anything from the Bible. Did not know how to use it. She met the Savior of the Bible. Her life is transformed. She is a new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come. 

When we left the study one of the other residents sat with Mary showing her some basic things about using her new Bible. We encouraged her to start reading in the gospels. Over the past nine months we have encouraged many other new believers to do the same thing. 

God's word is living and active. It is sharper than a two edged sword. It divides soul and spirit. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. That is why we must teach it, preach it, read it, study it, and learn from it. Through His word God saved Mary who was an outsider, a stranger to the faith, maybe even a little hostile toward God. It did not appear to Mary God had ever heard her prayers or done anything to help her. That all changed when He rescued her last Sunday afternoon. He died on the cross to purchase her salvation. She will never be the same again. 

We all rejoiced for her just like the angels in Heaven. Do it again Lord. Do it again and again. Save more Marys. 

What's the Hardest Thing You've Faced

 I stood around a circle of young athletes who had just completed our weight workout. I had just put them a pretty grueling abdominal workout to end our session. There was plenty of groaning. Some were mentally stronger than others and powered through. Others stopped repeatedly to rest, but they finished. 

We discussed how in life we have to deal with hard things. Much harder than a weight workout. That is when I asked the question, "What's the hardest thing you've faced?" Those students were silent. I looked from face to face hoping for an answer. Then a tall tangly kid finally said, "Cancer. Four years ago I had cancer." What a sobering moment. Everyone in the room was stunned into further silence. 

I shared [Phil 4:13] how Jesus gives us strength. Not just strength as athletes. Strength to endure life and the multiple challenges presented to us. Strength to persevere. Strength to not quit. Strength to summon His strength in us to get back up when we get knocked down. Strength to fight another day. Strength to believe for better days when you are blinded by the blizzards of life. Spiritual strength to keep trusting. Mental strength to set your mind on things of heaven and not earth. Emotional strength not to crater under the heavy load. 

Jesus gives us strength to endure all things. Cancer. Death of a spouse. A devastating divorce. Terminal illness. Financial set backs. Death grip of depression. The vice of substance abuse. The loss of a job. Defiant children. So much. People are suffering everywhere. Some silently and stoically. Others kicking and screaming. 

People are battling hard things. Even as I write this sentence the faces of several people come to mind. Each battling their own hard thing. I can do little to ease their suffering other than to pray and point people to scripture.

 Jesus helps us through hard things. Sometimes when we can hardly breathe He helps us with our next breath. Just breathing can be a chore. He can calm the storms in our minds like He did the storm on the sea while in a boat. He can multiply little into much just like He did with the loaves and fish feeding thousands. He can tame the most untamable people like He did the demoniacs. He can heal ones who seem too far gone like the woman with the issue of blood or the man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. He can reclaim prodigals. He can part the waters of dead ends and impossible circumstances. He can conquer enemies, defeat the wicked, take people from prison to the palace over night. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH HIM. I have spent a lifetime discovering this over and over again. He is the God that can open doors. He can rescue the perishing. He can send a flood or hold the rains back in drought. He can turn water into wine and wimps into courageous warriors. He can stop the flow of rivers as well as release the flow of the Holy Spirit into spiritual awakening. He can bring the dead back to life as well the spiritually dead to spiritual life. He can open closed wombs. He can convict the hardest sinner and turn them into a missionary. He can cure cancer, defeat disease, and cure through bringing the saints to glory shouting. He can comfort the grieving and brokenhearted. He can provide refuge for the troubled. He can defeat giants. He can encourage the discouraged, lift up the down trodden, and handle anything other hard thing that may come our way. 

May we remember these things and a young teenaged boy who has already gone through something harder than I have ever faced. Lord forgive me for whining, doubting, and many time pouting when the hard times come. You are our source of strength and joy.