Psalms 8:1, with 16:2 adn 31:1-3a
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Luke 17. Verse one caught my attention:
Luke 17:1 ¶ Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
It’s a sad truth that offences will be an ever-present part of our experience in this world. It is therefore critical that we learn how to deal with them rightly (Matthew 18:15-20).
Along the still waters, I honed in on the word impossible. We find no occurrence of it in the Old Testament, and only 9 in the New.
The angel Gabriel told Mary: “With God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Jesus said to us, “Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).
With men, it’s different. “It is impossible but that offences will come” (Luke 19:1). It’s impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). It’s impossible for those once enlightened to be renewed if they “fall away” (Hebrews 6:4-6).
But “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). This was said in the context of a man who wanted to know “what good thing” he could do to inherit eternal life. Jesus’ response: impossible (See also Matthew 9:26). And with God, by faith, “nothing shall be impossible” to us (Matthew 17:20). What is impossible with men is not so with God.
And yet there is one thing the Bible says is impossible for GOD: it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). This truth makes it possible to trust Him, even when dealing with what is impossible for us.
In the valley, kneeling in the shadow of His Cross, I looked at an impossibility made possible by GOD: the Word Who was GOD made flesh (impossibility no. 1), the eternal Christ crucified by the hands of sinful men (another impossibility made possible), Christ Jesus as GOD providing impossible salvation for men who had no possibility of salvation. God made it all possible by doing the impossible. And our hope rests upon the one thing that it is impossible for God to do: It is impossible for God to lie:
Hebrews 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability (meaning His promise is impossible to change) of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Hebrews 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.
The one thing that is impossible for God is what makes salvation possible for all.
And now, Jesus spoke to my heart by His word. Jerry, remember that it is impossible for you to do anything without me, so join me on the cross, and follow close: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
At the table, my Shepherd anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy followed us into the harvest.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live asap:
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