This morning, Julie shared with me a passage she was reading in her daily Bible reading. “Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.” (Deut. 4:9)
I am beginning to think that the word “impossible” defines our faith. God loved doing the “impossible”, the “improbable” and the “unexpected”. Satan is constantly telling us what is “impossible”, “improbable” and “unreasonable”. How many times have we told ourselves that “Nothing good can ever come out of this?” That may be true except for God, He likes to do the impossible. God took a baby found in a river and turned him into the leader of Israel. God took a virgin and gave her a child, who saves the world. God takes sinners and transforms them into His children, and God takes hearts full of despair and gives them hope.
I don’t always know how God does the impossible, but today I saw God at work. I needed somebody to talk to. A friend who lives hundreds of miles from my home showed up today, unannounced and unexpected. Before I ever knew I would need somebody to talk to, God started my friend on a journey. Some might say that was just “luck”, but you know what I saw today, I saw the hand of a God who cares for me.
I am going to put today in my heart and remember “I have a God who cares for me.”
In Him
J. Tom Washburn
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Do not go together
Have you ever thought about those words that don't go together? We have all heard the jokes about terms like "civil war" or "black light". There really are some words that can never truly go together, here is a list of some that we should think about.
(Time) Before God
Unknown to God
(Time) After God
Unloved by God
Unseen by God
As children of our precious Father, you and I can never fall into one of those categories. Those categories will never exist for us. In fact what He says to us is this "I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matt. 28:20(NIV)
Think about it
In Him
J. Tom Washburn
Count Your Blessings
I was reading my sister-in-laws blog the other day, and she had one that was entitled "Counting your blessings is a full time job". I remember growing up and singing a song that had the words "count your blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done." When was the last time you stopped and just savored the blessings God has lavished you with? God has given me a wife who loves me, ... thank you. God has blessed me with children, ... thank you. God has given me a few talents, ... thank you. Everything in my life that is good, God has blessed me with, ... thank you. God has blessed me with a good family and good friends, ... thank you. God has given me the opportunity to proclaim His love and hope to unknown numbers of people He loves, ... thank you.
There is no way that I deserve what God has done for me, so I bow my head and say thank you. There is one other prayer I offer, God I am yours, use me.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.(NIV)
In Him
J. Tom Washburn
There is no way that I deserve what God has done for me, so I bow my head and say thank you. There is one other prayer I offer, God I am yours, use me.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.(NIV)
In Him
J. Tom Washburn
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Story of God
Most stories begin “Once upon a time” but our story begins with “There is a God”, and He lives in Heaven, where He watches over you and where He loves you with an everlasting love. When you look in the book, the early words say, “In the beginning God”, some of the faint words say, “For God so loved, He planned to give”. The first chapter in the book we have says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and God made man in His own image, and He placed them in the Garden”. God gave them one law, and one penalty, and the penalty was Death. In time man broke that law. Now you would think that God would destroy any creature that broke His law, but not God. God knew who would pay the price, and He made man anyway, and God began to whisper The Word. You couldn’t understand it at first, but He said it with such tenderness that you knew it represented His very heart.
Men continued to sin and God sent a flood; and men continued to sin and God whispered the Word a little louder to Abraham, and set the plan in motion to send The Word to men.
God continued to whisper The Word and He used men like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God used men like Joseph and Moses, and all the while He whispered The Word. He used Joshua, Gideon and Samuel. He whispered The Word through David, Solomon, Elijah and the prophets, and, while sin remained, the voice of God was getting louder as He just kept saying The Word.
Then one night the voice broke through and The Word became flesh and the angels proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests. Today a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord”.
It was through the life of Jesus Christ that God chose to reveal His heart. It was His name that was whispered throughout the ages, and it was His life that would be sacrificed for the sin of man. God showed man who He was through the life of Christ, and He showed man His heart. The God of the beginning is not capricious, but caring. God does not want to strike man down; He longs to lift him up. The God of the beginning is not far away in a distant place, but He is near, and He cares about you.
He showed us how He cares when The Word walked among us. God showed that He cares about our hurts when a father came to Jesus because his daughter was dying. And at the time of the father’s greatest hurt when he heard his daughter had died, Jesus showed us the heart of God when he said, “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. Jesus gave that little girl life and He gave that father his little girl back. You see, God cares about those grievous hurts in the life of man. When the lepers came, Jesus touched them and they were healed. When those tortured by demons came, Jesus released them. The blind could see and the lame could walk, with just a word or a touch from the hand of The Word of God. But He didn’t just heal the body; Jesus also healed the inside of man. When the man was lowered through the roof, Jesus forgave his sin, and when the woman was caught in adultery Jesus forgave her sin. Jesus showed us that the touch of God can not only heal the body, it can heal the man. Every time Jesus touched a life you could hear God whisper The Name, and each time it grew just a little louder.
God cares for man; with an abiding love God cares for man, and He is not willing to leave man without hope. God knew that the time was coming near for the price to be paid for the sin of man, man that He loved. God watched as Jesus was laid on the cross and as the nails pierced His hands. He saw the agony of Christ as He hung suspended between Heaven and earth. And He heard the cries of The Word. And when He heard Him say, “It is finished” and saw Him die, God whispered The Word one more time with such agony that the earth shook and the great veil in the Temple was ripped apart.
The price had now been paid for the sin of man, but was the price too high?
The silence in Heaven was deafening.
How could God still care for man, when the cost was so great?
Did God still care about the hurts of man?
Did God still care about the sin of man?
Did God still care for man?
For three days not a noise was heard.
But then…from the center of Heaven itself, God didn’t whisper. God proclaimed The Name clearly for all to hear. He said it so loudly that the earth shook, the stone that sealed the tomb was rolled away and the Son of God came forth alive. The angels proclaimed “He is not here…He has risen!”
God has not stopped caring for man, in our hurts, in our victories and in our sin. He has not ceased whispering The Name, and there is coming a day when God will no longer whisper The Name; He will proclaim it one last time to this earth. With the trumpet blast, God will proclaim to the world one more time that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Then every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord!”
By J. Tom Washburn
Men continued to sin and God sent a flood; and men continued to sin and God whispered the Word a little louder to Abraham, and set the plan in motion to send The Word to men.
God continued to whisper The Word and He used men like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God used men like Joseph and Moses, and all the while He whispered The Word. He used Joshua, Gideon and Samuel. He whispered The Word through David, Solomon, Elijah and the prophets, and, while sin remained, the voice of God was getting louder as He just kept saying The Word.
Then one night the voice broke through and The Word became flesh and the angels proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests. Today a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord”.
It was through the life of Jesus Christ that God chose to reveal His heart. It was His name that was whispered throughout the ages, and it was His life that would be sacrificed for the sin of man. God showed man who He was through the life of Christ, and He showed man His heart. The God of the beginning is not capricious, but caring. God does not want to strike man down; He longs to lift him up. The God of the beginning is not far away in a distant place, but He is near, and He cares about you.
He showed us how He cares when The Word walked among us. God showed that He cares about our hurts when a father came to Jesus because his daughter was dying. And at the time of the father’s greatest hurt when he heard his daughter had died, Jesus showed us the heart of God when he said, “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. Jesus gave that little girl life and He gave that father his little girl back. You see, God cares about those grievous hurts in the life of man. When the lepers came, Jesus touched them and they were healed. When those tortured by demons came, Jesus released them. The blind could see and the lame could walk, with just a word or a touch from the hand of The Word of God. But He didn’t just heal the body; Jesus also healed the inside of man. When the man was lowered through the roof, Jesus forgave his sin, and when the woman was caught in adultery Jesus forgave her sin. Jesus showed us that the touch of God can not only heal the body, it can heal the man. Every time Jesus touched a life you could hear God whisper The Name, and each time it grew just a little louder.
God cares for man; with an abiding love God cares for man, and He is not willing to leave man without hope. God knew that the time was coming near for the price to be paid for the sin of man, man that He loved. God watched as Jesus was laid on the cross and as the nails pierced His hands. He saw the agony of Christ as He hung suspended between Heaven and earth. And He heard the cries of The Word. And when He heard Him say, “It is finished” and saw Him die, God whispered The Word one more time with such agony that the earth shook and the great veil in the Temple was ripped apart.
The price had now been paid for the sin of man, but was the price too high?
The silence in Heaven was deafening.
How could God still care for man, when the cost was so great?
Did God still care about the hurts of man?
Did God still care about the sin of man?
Did God still care for man?
For three days not a noise was heard.
But then…from the center of Heaven itself, God didn’t whisper. God proclaimed The Name clearly for all to hear. He said it so loudly that the earth shook, the stone that sealed the tomb was rolled away and the Son of God came forth alive. The angels proclaimed “He is not here…He has risen!”
God has not stopped caring for man, in our hurts, in our victories and in our sin. He has not ceased whispering The Name, and there is coming a day when God will no longer whisper The Name; He will proclaim it one last time to this earth. With the trumpet blast, God will proclaim to the world one more time that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Then every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord!”
By J. Tom Washburn
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Be Still
Ps 37:77 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; ...(NIV)
Ps 46:1010 "Be still, and know that I am God; ...(NIV)
Zech 2:1313 Be still before the LORD, ...(NIV)
Have you ever had one of those days. Have you ever approached the throne of God in prayer and when you got there, there was nothing to say. How many times does scripture tell us to "be still before the Lord"? I have found myself doing that lately. He knows the desires of my heart, He knows the dreams I long for and He hears what I don't know how to put into words.
Today I prayed one of those prayers that has no words, I tried to be still, and He lifted me up and reminded me that He is always near.
And so I offer this prayer now, "God, thank you."
In Him
J. Tom Washburn
Ps 46:1010 "Be still, and know that I am God; ...(NIV)
Zech 2:1313 Be still before the LORD, ...(NIV)
Have you ever had one of those days. Have you ever approached the throne of God in prayer and when you got there, there was nothing to say. How many times does scripture tell us to "be still before the Lord"? I have found myself doing that lately. He knows the desires of my heart, He knows the dreams I long for and He hears what I don't know how to put into words.
Today I prayed one of those prayers that has no words, I tried to be still, and He lifted me up and reminded me that He is always near.
And so I offer this prayer now, "God, thank you."
In Him
J. Tom Washburn
Friday, March 6, 2009
Promises
For too many people, promises have become wishful hope. Promises are suppose to be certain, but in today's world promises are a dime a dozen. We listen to the promises of advertisers on television and we know, it's not all true. We listen to the promises and vows given at a wedding ceremony, and we hope they are lasting and true.
So many promises have been broken over the years, that it is hard to believe anyone anymore. I want you to know that there are some promises that have never been broken, there are some promises that will always be true. The promises of God are sure. The promises of God never change. The promises of God are true.
In a world where everything is questioned, I am glad I can trust fully in Him. Listen to this promise and know it is always true.
Isa 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.(NIV)"
In Him
J. Tom Washburn
So many promises have been broken over the years, that it is hard to believe anyone anymore. I want you to know that there are some promises that have never been broken, there are some promises that will always be true. The promises of God are sure. The promises of God never change. The promises of God are true.
In a world where everything is questioned, I am glad I can trust fully in Him. Listen to this promise and know it is always true.
Isa 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.(NIV)"
In Him
J. Tom Washburn
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