The Sword of the LORD

In Jesus' day, there was a pool in Jerusalem which in Aramaic was called Bethesda, meaning "house of mercy."   Once in a while, an angel would enter the pool and stir the waters up so that they visibly moved.   It was discovered that anyone who could be the first to enter the pool after the water was stirred would be healed of whatever was afflicting them.   For this reason there was always a large number of people who were blind, sick, crippled, etc. who would wait all around the pool for their chance to be healed.     A story like this may seem strange to us today.   Many modern Christians and theologians would rather dismiss what they don't understand than to believe the witness of God's Word.   Even several of the more popular modern Bible translations have removed the text of John 5:4 from their editions, choosing to skip verse four altogether and go directly to verse five from verse three!   I say, let God be true and every man a liar.   God is a

"The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"   (Luke 17:5 NIV)   As Christians, we can relate to the apostles' desire to have a greater abundance of faith.   During Jesus' ministry He often reproved them for their lack of faith because they failed to trust Him in the midst of difficult circumstances.   Things haven't changed much in 2000 years.   We still tend to think that we need to know what God intends for us from A to Z before we will accept that what He is doing is in our best interest.   Truth is, even if He would spell things out for us, and let us know His long-term goals for us, we still would not understand or submit meekly to His workmanship.     I have had the opportunity to watch various blacksmiths as they applied their craft to crude bars of iron.   They first must cast the metal into a forge and heat it until it is glowing orange.   While it is still hot, they place it on their anvil and beat it with a sledge hamme

In this life, there are many obstacles that confront us on a regular basis.   Some are simply small irritants that we all must deal with like the kids spilling chocolate milk on the new carpet, or getting a flat tire on the way to work.   Others seem larger than life like losing a loved one, or being fired from a job.   Others still test the limits of our faith like being wrongfully accused, being persecuted for our faith, or being sorely tempted to sin.   All of these things may seem like detours on the path of life, but in truth they are the very things that can help us to live a more abundant life - one that is lived through the grace of God and not by our own feeble attempts to overcome.   The Apostle Paul went so far as to say, "I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV)   Delighting in our hardships may seem like a stretch for most folks, but the key is trusting

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him."   (Psalm 62:5)   We all have expectations.   We expect to be reasonably healthy in our lifetimes and to grow old before we die.   We expect to be financially stable and be able to care for ourselves and for our loved ones.   We expect to be valued and respected as individuals and to be treated justly by those who are over us.   Those are just a few of the big things that we expect, but it goes much further than that.   We expect that our favorite sports team will always win.   We expect that every light will turn green for us when we are in a rush, and that we won't get behind any slow or elderly drivers.   We expect that our private time be respected and not interrupted by unplanned phone calls, visits, or requests for assistance or time. Needless to say, our expectations are all too often dashed.   We are told to "hope for the best," but by doing this very thing aren't we settin