Good morning! It's June 1st. My goodness, it's June.
My thoughts this morning are from our John passage.
8 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.
How many times do we see the hand of God or hear the voice of God (either audibly or through a different 'voice') and deny it? How many of these things are for my benefit and because I explain it away with science or by natural means, I miss the point? Sometimes it's neat to hear how some of the miracles in the bible could have happened through science, but sometimes I believe we water down the word when we do that. God didn't need help from nature to make His miracles happen. He created nature and He can bypass the laws of His creation! We do ourselves a disservice by trying to find a feasible explanation to the miracles in the bible and the miracles of today (there are plenty). There are many reasons why God chooses to show Himself through His miracles. One of which is His power. If we find explanations for miracles then we have made our God no more powerful than ourselves. We are human, we are frail. We need Him to show us His power. Through His miracles, then and now, we believe. What would happen to our faith if we saw the hand of God and heard the voice of God in more situations? Our faith would grow. Our God is so much bigger than what we can imagine. And we reduce Him when we use our knowledge to explain away His miracles. So sad.
This scripture hit home as well:
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Where do we stand? I know I love the praise of men and I do seek it. How different would my life look if I sought the praise of God instead? What were these leaders missing out on then and after their deaths just because they wanted the praise of mortal men? Are they regretting it now? Ouch. This passage bites. How much of our church experiences are false just because we want to be in the 'in' crowd at church? We are called to be set apart, sanctified and holy. We are different. Do we look it? Do we act it? Do we believe it? Ouch ouch ouch.
Father God, please forgive us where we have let You down. Forgive us for our false fronts we put on just so we can be accepted by other people. Oh God help us to seek Your praise, Your acceptance. Thank You Father God for Your word, Your truth. We love You Lord. Amen.
Tomorrow's passage: Psalm 53, Psalm 55, Psalm 58, John 13:1-20
4 comments:
Funny, it was exactly those same passages that hit me, too. I don't remember noticing before that God again publicly affirms His Son in an audible voice. Man, how could you NOT believe after that??! Well, I guess that second passage explains it pretty well...
It seems mindboggling that anyone could still not believe after audibly hearing the voice of God.
I think miraculous signs do nothing for the skeptics. Miracles strengthen believers and probably convince those who are wanting to believe or who are honestly seeking. But, according to incident after incident in the Bible, miracles don't sustain faith that's based solely on flash and no substance.
Great post. I think it is human nature to try and explain miracles and I love it when God reveals the impossible. I do agree with Tammy that miracles do grow the faith of believers but may not do anything to those who do not believe.
In the Psalms I love these verses...
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Psalm 40:1-3a
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