Day 27

I love the poem “Footprints in the Sand”.  It reminds me that Jesus not only walks with me when I need Him but at times He even carries me.  I can depend completely on Him when I feel inadequate.

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”
The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.”
By Mary Stevenson
We all need someone to be there for us in difficult times.

I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing.  I looked at my alarm clock. Three a.m.

I heard my dad talking on the phone in serious tones. He was asking about my older brother, Ervan.  When I heard him ask, “Is he going to live?” I knew something terrible had happened to my brother.

For the next few months most of my parent’s time was given to visiting my sick brother in the hospital. When he was finally well enough to come home they were busy taking care of him. They had to prepare special meals for him, and feed him, and change his dressings among other things. In time he healed and became independent again.

While my brother was sick he depended on my parents. My parents never neglected the rest of us but like a shepherd caring for a lame lamb until he is healed they had to give him a lot of extra care. During this time I’m sure my brother developed a very close relationship with my mom and dad because they spent so much time together.

There are times in our lives too that as His child God has to carry us.  We depend on him completely.  Sometimes it’s as we go through a difficult time in our life, like a divorce or an illness, or a financial crisis.  When situations are out of our control and we feel lost He comes and walks the dark hills reaching His hands out to us and carries us back to that safe place close to Him.  He cares for us as we depend completely on Him.

A shepherd has to leave his other sheep as he looks for the lost or hurt lamb, and a parent is forced to neglect the healthy child temporarily because of  their limitations. Unlike the shepherd and our parents, God isn’t limited.  He is with us 100% of the time while He is with the extra needy 100% of the time.  He never leaves us or forsakes us.
“If a man has a hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do?  Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others and go into the hills to search for the lost one?”  Matthew 18:12 [The Living Bible]

“God has said, ‘I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5 [The Living Bible]
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I want to walk with you spiritually this year, inviting you to read the Bible through from cover to cover; from Genesis 1 all the way to Revelation 22:21.  If that sounds too difficult for you and your kids, you can join in again after you have taken a break or join us for the days you’re up to it.  We will start on Sunday, January 18th and finish Saturday, January 16, 2010.  I promise that you will understand the Bible in a much deeper way if you read it through from cover to cover in a year’s time.

Accept my challenge to read the Bible through in one year chronologically, including the Old and the New Testament.

Day 27 Today read:
Exodus 4:1-5:21
Matthew 18:1-20
Psalm 22:19-31
Proverbs 5:15-21

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“With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19: 26

When you read about all the supernatural things Jesus did in the Gospels, do you sometimes wonder if He did magic? What is magic?

My World Book dictionary has a few definitions. It says it’s the pretended or supposed art of using secret charms and spirits to make unnatural things happen; like the fairy’s magic changed the brothers into swans. In simple cultures, magic is often closely related to religion. Sorcery, occult and witchcraft are listed as its synonyms.

Its second definition says magic is something that produces results like a mysterious influence or unexplained power like in music; the magic of her voice charms the audience.

And it also says magic is the art or skill of creating illusions. An illusion is an appearance or feeling that misleads because it is not real. That’s what you see magicians do at birthday parties when they pull a rabbit out of a tall black hat.

Is that what Jesus did? Or were the wonders and healings He did real? And by what power did He do them?

Jesus and His disciples, with His mother were invited to a wedding. The people hosting the wedding ran out of wine. Wine was very important in that culture, especially at a wedding. Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no wine.” Then she also informed the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to.

Mary, being Jesus’ mother, knew He was God’s Son. She must have been thinking -You’re God, Jesus. Please help these people.

There were six huge water pots made from stone standing there. Each could hold 20 to 30 gallons. Jesus told the servants to fill each water pot with water. So they did. They filled each one to the brim – to the top.

Then Jesus told them to draw some out and bring it to the master of the feast. So they filled a pitcher with the liquid. To their surprise it was no longer plain water but had turned into wine. Jesus had made the water into wine.

The master of the feast tasted it. He didn’t know that it had been water, turned to wine. He said it tasted better than the first wine they had served. When Jesus does something, it is always good. It is perfect.

So let’s go back to my question. Did Jesus turn water into wine with magic? Or how did He do it?

The church leaders of that day, the chief priests and the elders, also had questions about how Jesus did such supernatural things. At another time they asked, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” Matthew 21:23 [NKJV]

In Matthew 12:28 we read His answer. “But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.” [The Living Bible] And there we have His answer. He did it by God’s power.

We call Jesus’ supernatural signs, miracles. A miracle is a wonderful happening that is beyond the known laws of nature.

God created and maintains the whole world. Making water into wine must have been a small thing for Him. But then, nothing God does is ever just a small thing. He does everything for a purpose; to meet our needs and to bring honor and glory to His name.

Going Deeper for Parents:

A lot of people, even Christians, have a hard time believing that Jesus’ miracles were literal.

Let me take you back to John 1 where Nathanael said He now believed that Jesus was the Messiah, because Jesus knew he was under the fig tree when Philip called him. At that time Jesus told him, “You will see greater things than these.” Then He added, “Do you believe all this just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater proofs than this. You will even see heaven open and angels of God coming back and forth to me, the Messiah.” John 1: 50, 51 [The Living Bible}

Jesus’ disciples did see Him do many miracles. That is what convinced them that He is the Christ.

Bible scholars believe that when Jesus spoke of seeing heaven open and angels coming back and forth to Jesus, He was referring to the future glory of Christ, returning to take us to glory with Him. That is one miracle none of us want to miss.

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