MasterTruth

What is Too Hard for the Lord?

Let’s work on our faith muscles today. Is something troubling you that you think has escaped God’s notice or that He is incapable of understanding or handling? Let’s look at some of His interests and accomplishments:

 

• Nothing going on inside your body or the bodies of those you love is too difficult for Him. “And the Lord said unto Abraham, wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? (Gen 18:13-14)
• Nothing that goes on in nature is outside His power to control: Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: (Jer. 32:17)
• No person, army or leader can free-wheel outside of God’s ability to handle them, which includes saving or destroying them: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? (Jer. 32:27)
• No hateful, obnoxious, toxic person is beyond hope or outside of God’s ability to reach: “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Phil. 3:21)

• No basic need is too impossible for God to meet: When Moses doubted God’s promise to provide meat for the wandering Israelites in the wilderness, the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD’S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.” (Num. 11:23)
• No mighty, armed enemy is too strong for God to take down: “And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” (1Sam. 14:6)
• No hardened sinner is too hopeless for God to save: “When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” (Matt. 19:25-26)

Can you imagine anything else that might possibly be too difficult for God? Whatever more you can or can’t think of, give God glory, and acknowledge His ability to handle those things, too. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Eph. 3:20-21)

And finally, if God can do anything, guess who else can. You can. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Phil. 4:13)

Have faith in God to do whatever you’re thinking of—as long as it’s according to His will. (Don’t be praying that a brand new Corvette shows up in your driveway, in other words.) “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6)

Jody

Shine the Light

Before age 15 when I attended Kansas City Youth for Christ and heard and responded to the gospel, I had no purpose. To this day, I can’t imagine what hope anyone has who doesn’t know Christ. After I received Him as my savior, I suddenly had purpose, and it’s a purpose that I hold to this day… to get to know Him more and more. I’m passionate about that.

But in my personal Bible study this week, I see very clearly what God’s purpose is for me since receiving Him, and I was shocked to discover it, because it’s something I never figured out before.

Let me start where a lot of true believers would start.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9) Whenever I ask someone how they know they will go to heaven, they often recite how they have tried to do good things all their life. And then I know they really don’t know Jesus because of the verses above. Salvation is by grace through faith and not of works.

But after salvation, good works are everything—and they are God purpose for us. It begins with the verse right after Eph. 2:8-9:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10) Read that verse again and notice why we were created in Christ Jesus. Good works.

If that isn’t clear enough, Paul explained to Titus why Jesus gave himself for us:  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:14) He wants a purified people who are zealous of good works.

And as one more stab at God’s purpose for believers, Paul told Timothy something similar about being purified from iniquity through Christ. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. (2 Tim 2:19-21)

As for my purpose, knowing God better is a great thing, but God’s purpose for me goes beyond knowing Him. It extends to living a pure life as His vessel to do good works. What are those good works? That’s something for further study and prayer. For now, it’s time to align myself with His purpose for me. The new cry of my heart to God needs to be a little longer. I can’t stop at, “God, I want to know you better.” Here’s the new prayer: “God, I want to know you better, and I want to be used by you today to do something good as you have planned for me. Show me what it is.”

Jody

The Bible is a Hologram

Not just one dimensional, the Bible is a hologram. This might be the first time you’ve ever considered that. But much of the Old Testament is a picture of Christ coming in the New Testament. I can safely say that because after Jesus rose from the dead, in a disguised way, He walked along the road to Emmaus with two disciples who were discussing the fact that Jesus had just died, when they thought He’d live forever. Jesus, still disguised, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)

When it says “beginning at Moses,” He was referring to the first five books of that Bible, which Moses wrote. Christ is pictured in the first five books of the Bible. He said so Himself. Where is He pictured? I would have liked to have been on that road and heard the passages Jesus pointed out about Himself.

But there’s one we know for sure, because Jesus said what it was in John 6:31-35 when He said, “I am the bread of life.” Read that passage, and it’s in the context of God providing manna from heaven to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness after escaping Egypt.

Since we know that, we can go back to Exodus 16 and look at that story with our hologram glasses on. Let’s go on that journey together.

Jesus as manna in Exodus	Application of Jesus as the manna
And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; (Ex. 16:3-4a) The supply wasn’t there until the desperate need.	They didn’t get this bread from heaven until they realized that if they didn’t have bread from God, they were going to die. Jesus is the bread of life, but He is of no use to those who don’t recognize that unless they believe and receive Him, they will die. For the Israelites, this realization came on the 15th day of the second month after they departed from Egypt (Ex. 16:1). Do you have a date when you recognized that without Jesus, you would die?
At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. (Ex 16:12b) You don’t know God until you know Jesus.	Until you believe and receive Jesus as your savior, you don’t know God.  He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (Joh 14:9b)
And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. (Ex 16:18)	Jesus completely satisfies. He is not too much to handle. He’s not too little to meet the need. No matter the size of your capacity to receive Him, He fits the space.
And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. (Ex 16:21)	There is only a certain time available to partake of Christ. If you wait too long, your opportunity will be gone. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2Cor. 6:2b)