1/18/2021
Our God is more than just strong, He is all powerful, and nothing is beyond His ability; nothing physically, spiritually, or mentally, is too great for Him to accomplish. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent... all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere. If He weren’t loving, good, merciful, and just, He would strike terror in every man, but in fact His goodness pervades all things... even our hearts when we are yet in sin. He sees enough good in us, that He reaches out to us through His Son Jesus to redeem us. He has made us in His image, and in our most decrepit state there is a touch of His goodness remaining within us; a glimmer of His hope, love, and goodness smolders there, enough that He will save us if we will open ourselves to Him.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
When I was a teenager there was a boy who lived at the end of a dirt road near my home. He lived in an old run down shack surrounded by wrecked cars and mean dogs. He was often dirty, but always stronger, and tougher than the rest of us; he struck fear in every neighborhood boy. If this kid came around then the rest of us would leave because there was a strong possibility that we might get beaten up, or worse! His wallet was attached to him by a chain, and he carried a switchblade knife... he was fearsome in his demeanor. Has there ever been someone like this in your life, someone who, in the eyes of the community, was hopeless and destined for destruction? Well, this was also Saul before Jesus struck him down on the road to Damascus, blinded him, and changed him... ultimately calling him Paul, and making him an Apostle. Christians feared this man, and wherever he went they were made to suffer or worse. Surely there was no hope for this man’s soul... or was there?
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26 ESV
There are dirt roads in the lives of every Christian, and at the end of each of them there are lost souls living sad and sometimes vicious lives. These are dark and fearsome places where on occasion God sends us, his children, despite our desperate fear, to retrieve someone who is lost; someone whom He has never abandoned. God doesn’t see the hearts of the righteous alone... He sees every heart, even those of sinners. Look around you, and identify the rough and dirty roads on the outskirts of your life, and be prepared to go there if you are called to do so. Do you remember how reluctant Ananias was to have anything to do with Saul? Well, are we to be like Ananias?
“Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”
Acts 9:10-15 ESV
When we are told to go where the rough people reside we should remember that our God is almighty, all powerful and will protect us, He is all knowing and knows the hearts of all those involved, but most of all He is ever present and will be right there beside us... as s matter of fact He is at the end of those dirt roads already... even now as He stands here with us. He is looking everywhere into every heart for a glimmer of light, and an ounce of goodness that will make a soul responsive to His call. He knew the number of good souls in Sodom as He bargained with Abraham, and He knows the number around us as well...
“Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.””
Genesis 18:32 ESV
Are we ready to go to Damascus and deliver a message to Saul of Tarsus who is known to persecute Christians? Are we ready to make intercession for the souls at the end of the dark roads surrounding us? Are we ready to go down the dirt roads in our lives to speak with tough men who wears filthy clothes, and carry a knives, about the gospel of Jesus? Do we trust our almighty God, and Lord Jesus enough to go straightway when they send us on such missions?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for not only knowing our hearts, but the hearts of all those who live about us. Thank you Lord for everything that you are, and the fact that you protect us, and are all mighty! Help us to trust in you always, and to go where you send us without question. Open our eyes Lord so that we see you here with us, and in every place in creation as well. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who looks for the good in each of us, and sends your children into dangerous places with the message of your Son Jesus Christ. Praised be your name for the hard men and women whose hearts you have softened, and prepared for the gospel of Jesus. You are merciful Lord, and give every soul the opportunity to know you, your son Jesus, and to believe, so that they might be saved, transformed, and given eternal life. Let your grace flow through Jesus into the hearts of everyone who will hear and accept His gospel, and have mercy on the souls who hear but don’t believe. Cleanse us Father in the blood of Christ, and let us sit at your table with all those you have sent us to invite. Let none be lost that you have given us, and hear the voice of each of their souls singing out to you in eternal joy.
Rich Forbes